Bishop, Faith Leaders to Join in Juneteenth Events

6/19/2019

The year 2019 marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of African people in North America, and the Pittsburgh-based Stop the Violence organization will celebrate their legacy and contributions to the region during Juneteenth events marking the end of chattel slavery and the passage of the 13th Amendment in 1865.

Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi will be honored along with other religious and community leaders who uplift communities in Western Pennsylvania during the 5th Annual Celebration of Life-Black Tie Honors Gala on on Friday, June 28 at the Marriott City Center Hotel. Other honorees are: Rev. Glenn Grayson of Wesley Center AME-Zion; Bishop Donald Clay of Petra Ministries; Rev. Richard A. Payne Sr., Christian Tabernacle; Rev. Liddy Barlow, Christian Associates of SWPA; Rev. George A. Williams, First Baptist Church; Bishop Michael Golphin Sr., Deliverance Baptist; Mrs. Pamela Johnson, Afro American Music Institute; Mary Ellen Barbour, Save Another Life Today; Kia Ingram, Cultivating Resilient Youth, and Louis Berry III, Concerned Citizens of Woodland Hills. Host Pooch Hall of Showtime's Ray Donovan series will emcee the event.

Many of those faith leaders, including Bishop Moore-Koikoi, also will participate in a 12:30 p.m. Memorial Service on Saturday, June 29 at Point State Park.

Juneteenth, which is celebrated and recognized in 47 states, takes its name from June 19th. At 2:30 p.m. on that date this year, Governor Tom Wolf was to sign HB 619 into law, making Juneteenth a recognized holiday in the State of Pennsylvania.

From June 28 through June 30, Stop the Violence Pittsburgh will host a number of other Juneteenth events in the city.

On Saturday, June 29, at 11am the Juneteenth/Jubilee Parade will begin. It will be a re-enactment of the April 1870 Jubilee of Freemen Parade originally held in Pittsburgh to celebrate the passage of the 15th Amendment granting black men the Right to Vote. The 2019 Juneteenth Parade will stage at Freedom Corner and Crawford avenue on the Hill District, march along 5th Avenue downtown to Point State Park. The Parade will include community organizations, fraternities and sororities, youth groups, Civil War re-enactors, the U.S. military forces, voting rights organizations and political and religious leaders.

At 12:30 pm, the Martin R. Delaney (MRD) Freedom Day Festival at Point State Park will begin with a Juneteenth Ecumenical Memorial Service commemorating the one-year anniversary of the death of Antwon Rose II, who was killed on June 19th (Juneteenth Day) in 2018, with religious leaders from various denominations from across the state.

From 1 pm to 10 pm, at Point State Park, the MRD Festival will showcase family-friendly activities with live bands, a Fun Zone, speakers, entertainment, vendors, a DanceFest Tribute to Don Cornelius and an attempt to set the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest Soul Train Dance Line. This event will be lead by national recording artist CUPID of Cupid Shuffle fame.

On Sunday June 30, from 10 am to 10 pm, a Black Music Festival will be held in Point State Park with live bands, gospel artists, RnB groups and a special Jazz Day tribute to trumpeter Sean Jones for his many contributions to jazz in Pittsburgh and America.

Primary Sponsor of these Events is The Heinz Endowments

Emancipation Sponsor is UPMC

Liberty Sponsor is POISE Foundation

For more information on these events contact us at: Stoptheviolencepgh@yahoo.com