Pittsburgh, state officials say they aren't canceling Juneteenth event at Point Park despite security questions

Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania officials said they don’t intend to cancel Juneteenth celebrations at Point State Park, though it’s unclear whether the event could move ahead if event organizers don’t meet the security requirements in place at the park.

The annual Western Pennsylvania Juneteenth celebration has been held at Point State Park since 2018. This year, however, event organizers accused city officials and officials with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources of trying to “sabotage” the celebration and fireworks and briefly suggested they’d cancel the event.

In a Facebook post earlier this week, event organizers said it “looks like it’s being canceled.” On Thursday, however, William B. Marshall, the event’s main organizer, said they plan to move ahead with the celebrations as planned.

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Friday clarified that officials never intended to force Juneteenth organizers to cancel their event. He said any claims to the contrary were false. The city, he said, was committed to treating the annual celebration “with the utmost respect and dignity it deserves.”

“Let me be clear — the city was never, never going to cancel Juneteenth,” the mayor said during brief livestreamed remarks.

Pittsburgh is providing $125,000 to support the event, plus in-kind support from the Department of Public Safety, Gainey said. Police will be patrolling the event, and EMS and fire crews also will be available.

“As a city, we are prepared to do our part to keep everyone safe,” Gainey said.

The private event organizers, however, are responsible for providing their own security for the fireworks at Point State Park, the mayor said. The requirement is one that applies to any such event at the state park, Gainey said, and is not specific to Juneteenth.

Marshall on Thursday told the Tribune-Review that he did not intend to provide that required security.

It was unclear what would happen with the event if the security was not in place.

Marshall said he felt the policy was intended to prevent the festival.

“It’s evident that they really don’t want us to be there,” he said. “But we’re going to proceed and hold these events at Point State Park.”

He did not immediately return calls for additional comment Friday.

DCNR spokesperson Wesley Robinson said the department has worked with Juneteenth organizers and has not attempted to cancel the event.

“DCNR supports Juneteenth as an important milestone in American culture and supports celebrating it in Pittsburgh and across the commonwealth,” Robinson said in a statement. “The commonwealth has not canceled the Juneteenth celebration or fireworks at Point State Park, and DCNR is not discriminating against the Juneteenth celebration.”

Robinson said officials “remain committed to working with the event organizers to provide the appropriate security and conservation measures for the event that ensure this iconic park is welcoming, safe and conserved for all Pennsylvanians.”

Nonetheless, Robinson said, Juneteenth event organizers are required to follow a “set of guidelines that we ask all event organizers at Point Park to adhere to.”

According to special event guidelines posted on DCNR’s website, event sponsors are to make arrangements for on-site and overnight security. The event sponsor for medium or large events — including festivals, celebrations, races and events with live concerts or fireworks displays — must “secure the services of a DCNR approved on-site and overnight security provider.”

Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, and it also is recognized as an official holiday at the state, county and city levels. The holiday traces its roots to June 19, 1865, when Union Gen. Gordon Granger read the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston, Texas, informing the nation’s last former slaves of their freedom.

Staff writer Haley Moreland contributed to this report.