Dueling Pittsburgh Juneteenth celebrations spark controversy, criticism of Gainey

The longtime organizer of Pittsburgh’s most well-known Juneteenth festival harshly condemned Mayor Ed Gainey on Wednesday after learning that the city will not fund his event but will instead pay for a separate celebration of the federal holiday by a different promoter.

The move marks a shift by Pittsburgh, which last year paid more than $100,000 to William B. Marshall, the veteran promoter, to help subsidize his privately run Juneteenth event.

This year, for the first time, the city is sponsoring its own Juneteenth festival, which it opened to a competitive bid. Marshall lost.

Marshall on Wednesday called the decision a “travesty” and accused the Gainey administration of trying to “sabotage” his Juneteenth celebration, which is scheduled for June 14 through 16 and is being promoted on the website of VisitPittsburgh, the city’s tourism agency.

William Anderson, chair of the Allegheny County Democratic Black Caucus, told City Council members that he felt the administration was attempting to “derail and basically hijack” the existing Juneteenth event so it could be replaced with a city-sanctioned version.

But the city said the decision was nothing personal, just business as usual, with the event awarded to Bounce Marketing & Events through a standard competitive bidding process.

Unbowed, Marshall said he will move forward without city funding.

The disarray over a festival that draws thousands of people and millions of dollars to the Golden Triangle raised the prospect of dueling Juneteenth celebrations and led to a rift among members of council, which must approve $125,000 in funding for the new promoter.

Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, said by funding a competing event and not giving Marshall financial support, officials would be going back on a prior pledge to support Marshall.

“I feel like this is one of the most dishonorable things we’ve done,” he said, calling the controversy a “stain on the Juneteenth celebration.”

Marshall’s Juneteenth event has grown and had a positive economic impact every year, Coghill said.

“So why would we compete with that?”

Marshall’s Stop the Violence Pittsburgh organization has hosted Juneteenth celebrations in the city for over a decade. Last year’s event drew about 48,800 attendees and generated nearly $3.5 million in economic impact for city businesses, according to VisitPittsburgh.

The city last year gave Marshall $125,000, drawn from federal funds.

Marshall said he thought he would get the same amount this year.

When he didn’t, he lambasted city officials for giving that cash to a group that has never hosted a Juneteenth event in Pittsburgh.

“We were shocked to find the Gainey administration gave the funding to Bounce,” Marshall said. “Everybody in our community is in an uproar.”

The city launched a competitive bid process to choose its partner for the event and selected Bounce, a local event organizer that has hosted national and local events.

Fantasy Zellars, Bounce’s president, declined to comment until City Council takes a final vote next week on giving it $125,000.

Gainey’s chief of staff, Jake Wheatley, said the Juneteenth celebration by Bounce is meant to be an addition to Marshall’s event, not a competitor.

Jake Pawlak, who heads the Office of Management and Budget, defended the mayor.

He said the administration provided Marshall with the agreed-upon $125,000 last year and then informed him the city would open up the event for bidding.

According to Pawlak, three entities applied, including The Poise Foundation, which submitted a bit on Marshall’s behalf.

Pawlak said Bounce won the bid because it met the city’s requirements, including a preference that the cash be spent primarily on local artists.

The administration will not release details on the bids or their scores until a final contract is executed.

Wheatley said other event organizers started to reach out to city officials last year after the city gave Marshall cash to ask whether their events also could get city funding.

A proposal to allocate the money to Bounce was met with mixed reactions Wednesday when it came before City Council for a preliminary vote.

Some council members pushed for Marshall to get the cash instead, while others credited the administration for going through the standard procurement process. Some tried to find compromise.

The measure passed with Coghill voting against it; Theresa Kail-Smith, D-West End, and Bob Charland, D-South Side, abstained.

Pawlak said it would run against standard city processes to hand the money to Marshall after another organizer won the bid. Some council members have previously criticized the Gainey administration when it appeared it had not gone through that same procurement process for other contracts.

“There was no personal animosity. There was no favoritism,” Wheatley said. “This process is what this process is. Sometimes you get selected. Sometimes you don’t.”

Some council members suggested the city could encourage collaboration between Marshall and Bounce.

The Poise Foundation, on behalf of Marshall’s event, told city officials during the procurement process it would not be open to collaborating with other organizers, said Patrick Cornell, the city’s chief financial officer.

Some council members also pitched the idea of finding additional funding elsewhere in the budget to also support Marshall.

The city-sponsored event won’t run on the same date as Marshall’s celebration, Wheatley said.

“It’s not in competition,” he said.

Marshall, however, said his 11 years of hosting a Juneteenth celebration in the city should’ve guaranteed him the contract. He said the process that resulted in another organizer receiving the money was “very flawed.”

“No other organization can outqualify us for Juneteenth celebrations,” he said.

Some officials, however, rejected that notion and voiced support for having multiple events to mark the holiday.

Events commemorating Juneteenth in Pittsburgh predate Marshall by decades, Councilman Khari Mosley, D-Point Breeze, said.

“Juneteenth is a holiday. It’s not owned by one person,” Wheatley said.

Juneteenth celebrates the emancipation of the last enslaved people in the United States in Galveston, Texas after the Civil War.

Wheatley said the city has helped Marshall with his events in the past, beyond the $125,000 provided last year.

The city forgave about $33,000 that Marshall owed for event-related expenses, Wheatley said, and wrote off in-kind costs for expenses like police and road closures. Wheatley said the administration also helped with fundraising efforts.

A final vote by council is scheduled for Tuesday.

The Juneteenth event last year was embroiled in controversy when Marshall threatened to cancel it amid concerns from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources — which runs Point State Park —that he would not be able to provide required private security.

Details regarding the city-sponsored Juneteenth celebration have not yet been announced.