The Black Business Owners Coalition Of Glendale started Juneteenth festivities in the West Valley June 8 in the Glendale Adult Center, and the celebration continues to grow.

During the event, the coalition presented its 2024 Unsung Hero award to the late Linda S Cutright. She was  the dean of student services at Estrella Mountain Community College, a member of the NAACP, on the board of directors of Bethesda Church of God in Christ and part of the National Black MBA Association. Cutright graduated from Maricopa Community Colleges’ Women’s Leadership Group and was a licensed minister.

Carolyn Lowery, the 2022 Unsung Hero award winner and founder and director of the Arizona Black United Fund, was also there Saturday.

Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers and Tempe Mayor Corey Woods  were both there and both read Juneteenth proclamations.

Juneteenth celebrates the freedom of enslaved people in the United States at the end of the Civil War. For more than 150 years, African American communities across the country have observed this holiday in a blend of two words — “June” and “nineteenth” — with its origins dating back to 1865.

The celebration featured skits and reenactments of June 19, 1865. Presentations, workshops, vendors, an arts and crafts fair, a kids’ village, and a farmers market were spread across the adult center. 

Live bands played African, jazz and gospel music to highlight the celebration. Organizer and 24-year Glendale resident Marcia Garland thanked all that contributed their time and efforts to help the Juneteenth event grow.

Organizers have worked to make the event as disability friendly as possible by  having the Negro National Anthem signed in ASL by a hearing impaired African American individ

Email community activist and 24-year Glendale resident Marcia Garland at marciagarland@bbocog.org for more information.