Pottstown’s Juneteenth celebration shines [PHOTOS and VIDEO] (2024)

POTTSTOWN — When Troy Rivera organized the first Juneteenth Celebration in Pottstown three years ago, it was a modest affair with some vendors, a few games for the kids and a wealth of good intentions.

His effort came soon after he had organized a peaceful march in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers – a march that attracted thousands in Pottstown and he wanted to keep the momentum of a racial reckoning going.

Apparently, he was not alone.

Three years later, and with help from many more people, the Juneteenth celebration in Pottstown has grown into an all-inclusive street festival to rival the monthly car shows and the Pottstown GoFourth! street festival on July 4.

Hundreds packed High Street, North and South Hanover Street and Smith Family Plaza for the wealth of activities, vendors, programs and performances set up by the organizers.

Under the shade of the plaza’s trees, massages and yoga were part of the health center’s services while vendors displayed and sold their wares.

“This is what it looks like when a community comes together,” said Pottstown Mayor Stephanie Henrick.

All along North and South Hanover Street, the delicious smell from the many food vendors drew people into lines, their mouths watering while they waited for their order to be ready.

Further down High Street, inflatable slides and bounce houses competed with the petting zoo to see which one would attract more kids.

And the Juneteenth celebration wasn’t finished on Saturday.

After the celebration, organizers have an event planned for the actual date of Juneteenth, which is June 19.

That’s when they planned a Juneteenth Freedom Rise Scholarship Gala to celebrate the students who won this year’s Juneteenth Scholarships.

It will be held at Rivet Canteen and Assembly, 238 High St., from 6 to 9 p.m.

Tickets are $50 and 50 percent of proceeds will be used to support the family that owns and runs Welcome to the Avenue. Their young daughter has been diagnosed with cancer.

Those interested should “dress to impress and wear your freshest sneakers.”

In addition to music by DJ Thomas Walker, the guest speaker will be Dr. Veirdre Jackson.

The CEO and founder of Living Strong Consulting, LLC, Jackson is an award-winning author, educator, and entrepreneur who is recognized as a leading educational trainer in trauma-informed practices and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging.

The Pottstown Juneteenth Scholarship has grown from last year’s seven $350 awards to seven $500 awards to be presented this year. As the scholarship grows the scholarship committee’s goal is to be able to give $1,865 to seven students in the community.

To qualify, applicants must identify as African American; reside in the Pottstown or Pottsgrove community; be enrolled (or) plan to be enrolled in an accredited college; have a minimum 3.0 GPA; and demonstrate involvement in community service, volunteer work, or extracurricular activities. While not the sole determining factor, financial need will be taken into consideration during the selection process.

While the scholarship deadline has passed for 2024 look for this scholarship to reopen in April 2025.

Sponsorship opportunities for the Scholarship Gala can be found atwww.pottstownjuneteenth.comandtickets to the galacan be obtained online through theJuneteenth Freedom Rise Scholarship GalaFacebook page.

The Juneteenth holiday, sometimes called Freedom Day, has its roots in President Abraham Lincoln’s revered Emancipation Proclamation.

On Jan. 1, 1863, Lincoln announced: “All persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.”

But because federal troops never occupied Texas, all those enslaved in the Lone Star State were not freed and did not even know about the proclamation.

As The Washington Post wrote, it was not until June 19, 1865, that “Union Army Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger stepped onto a balcony in Galveston, Texas — two months after the Civil War had ended — and announced that more than 250,000 enslaved people in Texas were free.”

The celebration that began there has been spreading ever since.