Reatha Marshall says she grew up not knowing what Juneteenth was, or the day’s history.
Now, the North Side woman’s family coordinates and organizes Pittsburgh’s Juneteenth event, which drew hundreds of visitors Friday to Market Square, Liberty Avenue and Point State Park for music, food, family activities and vendors.
“We should honor our ancestors,” said Marshall, who is the sister of Juneteenth organizer William “B.” Marshall. “This event helps young people understand, because I don’t know if they teach (Juneteenth) or not.”
Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States on June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to announce freedom for enslaved African Americans, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
“It means freedom,” said Coraopolis native Mary Eldridge, now living in Bay City, Michigan. “It means peace, and it means love. We can all come together and be unified. It’s nice to see other ethnic groups enjoy our freedom our ancestors worked so hard to have, to see them enjoy it with us.”
Teach your children
Eldridge and her husband, Charles, attended Juneteenth on Friday during a trip to Pittsburgh visiting family. She said there should be a push to teach African American history.
Juneteenth became an official U.S. federal holiday on June 17, 2021. A 2024 YouGov poll found that nine in 10 Americans had heard of Juneteenth, an increase from 74% in 2022.
But just because people have heard of the holiday doesn’t necessarily mean they understand its meaning.
The poll reported that, of those who had heard of Juneteenth, 68% of them actually knew the holiday acknowledges the emancipation of enslaved African Americans.
“Parents need to begin teaching their children,” Eldridge said. “And if their friends are interested in learning, teach them too. That’s why it’s important.”
Positive impact
Marshall believes understanding heritage and history can help inspire children to make better decisions and see the positive impact they can make — especially during a time where teenagers struggle with that, participating in damaging social media trends or teen takeovers and fights in public places.
The Juneteenth event also holds a spotlight on Black-owned small businesses, artisans, chefs and other vendors that are sometimes overlooked, she said.
“This festival builds them up to see people to teach them about their inheritance,” Marshall said.
Marcus Goodlow wants his 4-year-old son, Marcus Jr., to grow up appreciating his heritage and respecting those who are different from him.
“I want him to understand where he came from, not to be judgmental,” Goodlow, of Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood, said. “That’s what I’m trying to teach him.”
Events like the city’s four-day Juneteenth celebration, which the Goodlows were attending, showcase those lessons.
“This hopefully helps him expand his mind,” Goodlow said. “I think they should have stuff like this more often. It’s something to do, people to see, and to see and try different things.”
Perpetual struggle
The Pittsburgh event also drew people from other states, like Debra Edwards of Buffalo, New York and Ingrid Abernathy of Fairfax, Virginia.
Edwards said she came to Pittsburgh solely because she heard it had a nice Juneteenth celebration.
It’s important to celebrate Juneteenth, Edwards said, because racial and societal issues still exist today.
“Black people will always have a struggle,” Edwards said. “There will always be people who want to oppress us. We have to come up. We have to teach our children how to elevate. When they go low, we go high.”
Education about the struggles of Black people in America starts at home, said Abernathy.
“We educate who we are, where we came from, this is our people,” she said. “These are the things we’re doing to contribute to society, so they understand who they are instead of what the world may characterize them to be.”
Robert Wofford of the North Side agrees. It was important to him for his son, Robert, 8, and daughter Tray, 5, learn about what their ancestors experienced.
“And then they can grow up, and tell their kids,” Wofford said.
The festivities run through Sunday.