Bristol Celebrates Juneteenth With BBQ, Beats, & A Bounce House

On Saturday afternoon around the wharf in Bristol Borough, children were running and playing in a bouncy house, a DJ was spinning music, and people were lining up for BBQ, smoothies and ice cream.

The reason for the celebration was because of Juneteenth. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, two months after the Confederacy had surrendered. It was about 2 1/2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in Southern states.

President Joe Biden, meanwhile, signed legislation Thursday establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday.

The Saturday event in Bristol was organized by many officials and organizers, including Morris Derry. Derry is the founder of No More Pain Inc., which assists others dealing with drug abuse, homelessness and domestic violence. Derry has helped organize events honoring the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter March last June, and other efforts to improve the area.

On Saturday, Derry was making rounds to all of the vendors, wearing a shirt that said “1865” on it.

“This is important for people to come out and educate themselves about what Juneteenth means,” said Derry.

Over 40 vendor tents were at the event on Saturday, along with 3 food trucks and other eateries and organizations. The event took place from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., but some vendors began selling products by 9 a.m., according to organizers.

One of those organizers was Korah Steed, a Bristol Borough resident and owner of Kortoure Boutique in Bristol.

Steed said it was so nice to have so many small businesses showcased on Saturday.

“We have restaurants, retail, non-profit organizations and sororities. And we have booklets available with QR codes so people can scan those codes and learn more about these vendors,” Steed said.

Steed was at the site by 9 a.m. on Saturday, but by 1 p.m., with the sun beating down on attendees, Steed said she felt great.

“The feeling is so exhilarating to see black and brown and white people out here celebrating like a community block party,” she said. “I just feel blessed and honored to celebrate my melanin. It’s wonderful: you get to celebrate being black. How cool is that?

Another organizer, Kevin Johnson, 36, of Bristol, said that the pandemic has created many new entrepreneurs in the area.

“And almost all of these vendors agreed to sell an item related to Juneteenth. That’s wonderful,” Johnson said.

Johnson, Derry and Steed all agreed that this event should become an annual occurrence in Bristol.

“This should happen every year. If it’s on a Monday, we encourage folks to take the day off and come join us next year. A lot of people didn’t know what this was about, but we see it as a chance to educate the public,” Johnson said.

Randall Jefferson, of Philadelphia, could be seen Saturday smoking BBQ chicken and pork. With a towel around his neck and the sweat beating down his face, he said there’s no place he’d rather be on Juneteenth than with the community.

“It’s pretty popping right now and this was pretty cool to see people coming out and supporting this event and hopefully as we move forward we can really discuss the history of Juneteenth. I think sometimes with these holidays we’ll commercialize them, but we still have a long way to go,” Jefferson said.