A non-profit that helped run San Francisco's Juneteenth celebration has filed suit against the African American Art & Culture Association, accusing them of taking a city grant allegedly intended to flow through to the Juneteenth subcontractor.
According to the lawsuit, San Francisco Juneteenth and the AAACC "enjoyed a longstanding mutual support relationship with aligning missions and goals of maintaining community and advancement of African Americans in San Francisco." In 2019, that relationship purportedly led to a fiscal sponsorship agreement, under which the more established AAACC would share 5% of all grants received and 10% of all donations received with Juneteenth.
According to the complaint, however, the relationship soured in 2020 and 2021, amid San Francisco's long period of Covid restrictions, eliminating the ability to host the full Juneteenth celebration in person.
In the meantime, the complaint said San Francisco Juneteenth formally incorporated, and sought grants directly for events.
According to the complaint, a city audit allegedly raised concerns over the relationship between Juneteenth and the AAACC, and allegedly directed AAACC to return grant money to Juneteenth. AAACC, however, has allegedly refused to do so to this point, blaming Juneteenth for the alleged non-payment.
Juneteenth is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, plus statutory penalties and attorney fees.