PITTSBURGH — From music and dancing to even moments of social activism, Pittsburgh’s Juneteenth Parade pulled out all the stops in celebration of culture, black history and freedom.
PHOTOS: 2024 Juneteenth Parade held in Pittsburgh
“I always say some of my proudest moments of being black in Pittsburgh is being at Juneteenth. It’s such a positive atmosphere, kids, adults seniors, white and black people and Hispanic,” said Tim Stevens, Chairman of the Black Political Empowerment Project.
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“When they passed that big celebration for the 4th of July that didn’t include black people. So that was not liberation for us. In 1865, we got our freedom. So that’s why Juneteenth is a very significant time for us,” said B Marshall, Founder & Producer of Stop the Violence Pittsburgh.
The parade route started on Freedom Corner in the Hill District, a neighborhood home to some jazz greats.
“George Benson, Stanley Turrentine all from this area, and they played here and they were phenomenal and went on to go national,” said Marshall.
B Marshall has hosted this Juneteenth celebration for 11 years.
“We do these events to try to unify the community and bring children out to see this. Because they don’t see this type of stuff in their lives,” said Marshall. “I think everybody did a nice part in the whole thing. Especially the horses, the horses are so cool,” said parade visitor Briona Williams.
“I am so blessed to be here and this whole crowd of colorful. Beautiful sun and everything else in front of St. Benedict,” said Zita Iwuoha of Zita’s Healthy Beginnings.
This Juneteenth festival wraps up with the weekend but the city is throwing another Juneteenth celebration on Saturday, June 29th.
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