The Rev. Vincent Ponder of Community Baptist Church in the Lincoln Beach section of Upper Burrell had a simple way of describing what Juneteenth is about.
“Juneteenth is about us,” he told those who came for the historically Black community’s first celebration of Juneteenth on Saturday. “Today is a time to say ‘I’m glad to be free.’”
A federal holiday since 2021, Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S., falling on June 19 and often celebrated on the third Saturday in June.
The first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was adopted in 1983, Juneteenth has been called America’s second Independence Day.
It marks the day — June 19, 1865 — when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce that enslaved people in the state were free. It came 900 days after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect and 71 days after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865, ending the Civil War.
“The law said they were free, but they didn’t know,” Ponder said.
Located off Greensburg Road along Pucketa Creek, Lincoln Beach was established in 1925 as a residential community for Black people. Once boasting more than 60 homes and 300 residents, there are now about 20 households, two churches and a restaurant.
Ponder and others, including Juneteenth celebration organizer Julie Vilca, are now working to better Lincoln Beach through the Community Revitalization Mission of Service.
That includes everything from helping residents improve their homes and properties to giving children things to do. As part of Saturday’s celebration, Ponder brought in representatives from UPMC offering mental health resources.
Vilca, who now lives in Maryland near Washington, D.C., grew up in Lincoln Beach, and her mother still lives there. When she crosses the bridge over Pucketa Creek into the community, she leaves the stress of the world on the other side.
“I call this the epitome of heaven on earth,” she said. “Here, I know everyone and they know me. I could be gone for years and come back and pick up where I left off. I love it.”
For Juneteenth, Vilca brought music, food and fun to the place she grew up so they could celebrate Black history and culture. The band Fast Forward performed, as did blind musician Shailen Abram. A parking lot was turned into an outdoor roller skating rink, there were inflatables for children, and pony rides.
“It was scary because it was something new, but they were looking forward to it,” Vilca said.
Vilca said she hopes the Juneteenth celebration becomes an annual event.
