Six years ago, Jamie Freeman decided she wanted to host a cookout. She hoped to teach her children to be proud of their heritage and to celebrate Juneteenth, the historic holiday marking the end of slavery in the United States.
“I just really wanted to teach my own kid that it’s OK to be yourself and be proud of your background,” Freeman said.
Freeman said growing up in Norfolk Beach, a multicultural community, taught her to appreciate and celebrate different cultures.
“Everyone I knew went to bar mitzvahs and quinceañeras,” Freeman said. “When I came to Pittsburgh for college, I was looking for a similar sense of community.”
She found that in Western Pennsylvania, the sharing of culture often centers around food.
“As long as you’ve got music and food, people will come. It’s a staple of any culture,” Freeman said. “The basis of community is extending that invite.”
That first June, Freeman was amazed when a simple word-of-mouth invitation drew about 50 people to her cookout. The event quickly evolved into a popular summer tradition in Mt. Lebanon.
As the celebration grew, Freeman realized she needed additional help. Danielle Walker joked that she crashed one of the early Juneteenth planning gatherings by showing up at Freeman’s door and announcing, “I hope you don’t mind, but I’m here.”
Freeman and Walker, now close friends, said they had heard about one another through their children long before they met.
“I just remember her saying, ‘You!’” Freeman said as Walker pantomimed pointing a finger across a crowded room.
“And I said, ‘You need some help!’” Walker said with a laugh. “I wanted to make sure she was as successful as she could be.”
Today, the Juneteenth Jubilee is held annually in Mt. Lebanon Park and features traditional soul food, including catfish, fried chicken, ribs, yams, greens, cornbread and macaroni and cheese. The celebration also includes a live DJ, line dancing, local artists and food trucks.
While the free event offers plenty of music and games, Freeman said one of its most popular attractions is the annual Juneteenth Scavenger Hunt, which teaches participants about the end of slavery in an engaging and interactive way.
“We want to celebrate, but you have to remember the history to celebrate,” Freeman said.
“Celebrating freedom should not be taken for granted,” Walker agreed. “We celebrate freedom, rain or shine.”
Walker said she realized how much the event had become a part of the Mt. Lebanon community when organizers nearly had to cancel because of threatening weather. With storms in the forecast, Walker put out an urgent request for help on social media.
“People just started showing up and dropping off tents,” Walker said. “At one point, we had too many tents. The community was like, ‘This is going to happen.’”
“The community showed up,” Freeman agreed. “I realized it’s not just my event anymore. It’s the community’s event.”
Two years ago, in an effort to further engage residents, Freeman and Walker helped establish the Lebo Coalition, a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering an inclusive and equitable environment in Mt. Lebanon.
“We want to make our community feel like a united partnership,” Freeman said. “It’s really become, ‘How do we celebrate all cultures?’”
The coalition has expanded beyond the Juneteenth Jubilee, which remains its cornerstone event, to offer Black history programs, film screenings, game nights and other educational programming. Organizers are also seeking partnerships with community groups that share similar goals.
“At the end of the day, we are doing this for our community,” Freeman said. “Have something in your own backyard. Extend the invite, because that’s where it all starts.”
To learn more about the Lebo Coalition, visit www.lebocoalition.org
