JUNETEENTH
Wife of pastor slain in S.C. to speak
Teanna Corinealdi of Wilkinsburg, left, and Jasmine Manigault and her daughter ZuriLee of New York City celebrate Tuesday at the “This Is America: A Juneteenth Celebration” at the CCAC HomewoodBrushton Center in Homewood. Juneteenth is the oldest celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S.
As she huddled under a desk in a church office with her 6-year-old daughter, Jennifer Pinckney heard the “Pop! Pop! Pop!” of a gun in the main room where her husband was leading a Bible study group.
Ms. Pinckney and her daughter, Malana, escaped the shooting inside the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., on the night of June 17, 2015, but her husband, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, and eight other people were killed. The gunman, Dylann Roof, a selfavowed white supremacist, was sentenced to death by lethal injection by a federal judge in January 2017 and to nine life sentences in state court in April 2017.
Ms. Pinckney will be in Pittsburgh this weekend to be honored and to serve as a speaker for the annual Juneteenth celebration hosted by Stop the Violence Pittsburgh. The weekend includes panel discussions, a parade and two days of festivals.
Juneteenth celebrates the freedom of black Americans. It’s named for June 19, 1865, the day that marked the end of slavery when every state in the country enforced the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth is officially recognized in 47 states; Pennsylvania formally recognized it in 2012.
Ms. Pinckney will be honored Friday with religious leaders and historians at the fourth annual Celebration of Life gala, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Heinz History Center in the Strip District.
On Saturday, she will be part of a panel at the August Wilson Center, Downtown, discussing domestic, community and police violence and whitesupremacist terrorism. The Juneteenth Justice Forum there will run from 3 to 5 p.m. It also will serve as a fundraiser for The Honorable Reverend Clementa C. Pinckney Foundation, which aims to improve the quality of life for South Carolina residents by supporting religious, educational and charitable causes that Rev. Pinckney, who was also a state senator, supported.
William Marshall, founder and CEO of Stop the Violence Pittsburgh, said this year’s Juneteenth celebration is particularly significant because it includes the group’s first celebratory events in PointState Park.
“We wanted to do something to make sure that the city reflects inclusion and diversity in its presentations,” Mr. Marshall said. “Our main goal is to have events that will curb violence and bring the community, and various communities, together.”
More than 50 organizations have partnered with Stop the Violence Pittsburgh, including the NAACP, Heinz History Center and League of Women Voters.
The Juneteenth Freedom Parade on Saturday will reenact the Jubilee of Freemen Parade of 1870 in Pittsburgh, which celebrated the 15th Amendment granting black men the right to vote.
The parade will begin at 11 a.m. at Freedom Corner, Centre Avenue and Crawford Street, in Uptown. After the parade, Stop the Violence Pittsburgh will host the Martin R. Delany Freedom Day Festival from 1 to 10 p.m. in Point State Park, with live music, African drummers, children’s activities, food vendors, a voter registration drive, speakers and an attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the Largest SoulTrain Dance Line.
On Sunday, the Black Music Festival will host performances from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Point State Park, including Shining Star, a tribute to Earth, Wind and Fire; gospel groups; jazz bands; youth dance troupes; vendors; and national speakers.
For a full schedule and other details, go to its Facebook page, Pennsylvania Juneteenth Celebration.