Shari Corbitt, of New Haven, (right) hands out a free cupcake to a woman attending a Juneteenth event at East Rock Park in New Haven organized by Citywide Youth Coalition to celebrate the emancipation of the last enslaved people in Texas in 1865. Cloe Poisson / CTMirror.org
The cupcakes were provided by Hey Cupcake owner Lee Roberts, one of several Black-owned businesses in the New Haven area that provided food including chicken dinners, Jamaican food and McDonald’s meals to celebrants. About 1,500 people marched for equal justice and freedom from the New Haven Green to the park for speeches, poetry readings, entertainment, food and fellowship.