From Galveston to the Fillmore: The man who brought Juneteenth to SF

Axios

17-06-2025

In 1945, Texas native Wesley Johnson Sr. donned his signature white Stetson cowboy hat and rode his white stallion through city streets, inviting passersby to join in Juneteenth festivities at his nightclub in the Fillmore.
Why it matters: It marked the first of what would become one of the longest continuously running Juneteenth celebrations in America.
Flashback: Johnson was born in Galveston, Texas, where Juneteenth celebrations began in 1865 when the last enslaved people in Texas learned about their freedom under the Emancipation Proclamation.
He moved to the city with his family as a teenager after World War I.
After graduating from San Francisco State College (now SFSU), where he started one of the first student organizations for African Americans, he became a successful entrepreneur on the commercial corridor of the Fillmore, then known as the "Harlem of the West."
Between the lines: Johnson, who ran the thriving jazz club Texas Playhouse and was later nicknamed the godfather of Juneteenth in San Francisco, wanted to put the city on the map as a hub for Black culture, freedom and community.
Annual Juneteenth parades, which he led as grand marshal until the late 1980s, reflected that spirit and paid homage to their community's resilience.
What they're saying:"Everybody came with this allure and this air of excellence and pride — and he would not have it any other way," Melina Jones, who has served on the committee for SF's Juneteenth parade and festival, said in a 2024 look back at Johnson's legacy for SFSU.