Sewickley Juneteenth celebration set for June 22

Sewickley is set to celebrate Juneteenth with a vibrant community event on June 22, highlighting the significance of Black history and culture in the Quaker Valley.

June 19, also known as Juneteenth, Freedom Day and Jubilee Day, is a celebration of the end of enslavement for all Black people. It became a federal holiday in 2021.

The Sewickley Juneteenth Committee will hold Sewickley’s celebration in partnership with the Sewickley Community Center. Sewickley’s Juneteenth has been taking place since the early 2000s, but fizzled out and in the past few years has been revived.

At the center of that revival is Juneteenth committee board member and spokesperson Shawnda Davis.

“It is really important for me to keep the Black history of Sewickley alive, with the recognition of what shoulders we are standing on,” Davis said.

On June 19, 1865, General Gordon Granger stood on a hotel balcony in Galveston Bay, Texas, to announce and enforce the freedom of all Black people. The day is significant because the enslaved people in Texas — and all Confederate states — were already declared free in 1863 with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people in 10 rebellious states, which included Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Arkansas. However, not all enslaved people were free until the end of the Civil War in the spring of 1865. By June 19, 1865, the news of freedom came late to Texas and had to be enforced by Union troops. The 13th Amendment, which formally freed all enslaved people, was ratified in December 1865.

The history and education will be showcased through the vendors at the celebration. The Borough of Sewickley is also creating a documentary called “Their Story,” based on a local late resident Betti Cole’s book, “Their Story: The History of Blacks / African Americans in Sewickley & Edgeworth.”

“It’s about healing and celebration,” Bob Patterson, president of the Sewickley Community Center, said.

The celebration, from noon to 5 p.m., will open with the history of Juneteenth, what it means now and what it meant then.

“Even though it is a day of fun, it is also the remembrance of what that day meant,” Davis said.

The Sewickley Community Center has been around since 1935, according to Davis, and it was geared toward African Americans.

“We couldn’t participate at the YMCA and other things like that,” Davis said. “It’s really important to keep the Black history of Sewickley alive because not a lot of people know.”

Davis said there are a lot of newcomers to Sewickley. She wants to emphasize the legacy of Black people in the area, “like the Tuskegee Airmen, the post American Legion that was across the street, and the shoulders of the folks we are standing on. The local community who doesn’t know will know,” she said.

At the festival, T-shirts will be sold with the saying “On Their Shoulders” in black, red and green. The T-shirts will also have the names of prominent Black figures of Sewickley, including Tim Lee, Darlene Harris, Ann Rideout and more.

Free yoga will kick off the day from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Free swimming will be available at the Sewickley Community Center pool throughout the day.

Attendees can expect multiple food vendors, a dance party and local lemonade vendors Juice Boys and eatery Cambridge Corner. There will also be a large dance party on the Sewickley field, face painting, a bounce house and other activities. Rapper Frzy and other musicians will set the tone with sound and music for the afternoon. Around 3 p.m., there will also be a paint and sip with artist Marlon Gist.

Also on the Juneteenth committee are Patricia Lee, Bonita Lee Penn and Denise Lindsey.

“In Sewickley, Black history is a big thing for us,” Lindsay said, adding that it’s wonderful to see and support the local vendors.

The committee expects close to 500 people. The event is getting larger each year, and their goal is to expand Juneteenth to be a weekend-long event similar to the Come on Home weekends that used to take place in Sewickley that honored and celebrated Black culture and life.

“I think all too often we talk about the histories of slavery, which is all very real and very valid. But as we move forward, remembrance, focus on coming together and celebrating is important,” Patterson said.

For more information, visit sewickleycommunitycenter.com.