New grassroots organization U.N.I.T.Y. Collective hosts Juneteenth Block Party in Wilkes-Barre
Jun. 20—WILKES-BARRE — The new grassroots community group U.N.I.T.Y. Collective held its first Family and Friends Juneteenth Block Party Thursday evening on Public Square.
Juneteenth was signed into law as a federal holiday by former President Joe Biden in 2021, but it has been celebrated for much longer, particularly in the Black community. The holiday recognizes the day, June 19, 1865, when the final slaves in Texas were notified of their emancipation.
"[Juneteenth] is the celebration for African Americans to celebrate freedom, to celebrate culture, to celebrate being bold and being beautiful and Black," said Tiffany Murphy, who was one of the vendors who participated in the festivities. "So many things have been told throughout society that we are less than. ... it's just us spreading awareness about our culture and our Blackness."
Murphy, a mental health advocate and life coach, was bringing awareness to her podcast and YouTube channel — H3P Podcast — The Coaching Kween — and offering new subscribers on Public Square four free life coaching sessions. She said that the themes she touches on in her podcast are aligned with those of Juneteenth.
Also spreading the word about their business was the artist representing Glamformers, who identified herself as "Glamformers." The solidarity that comes with a Juneteenth celebration was at the top of her mind on Thursday evening.
"Juneteenth is the celebration of our independence as Black people," Glamformers said. "We were suppressed. ... so this is just a celebration for us to acknowledge everything that we've been through."
As far as her business is concerned, Glamformers has grown a nice following on social media and in the community. The approach is one that satisfies her customers on a more meaningful level.
"It's deeper than just makeup," Glamformers said of her business model. "I specialize in making women feel good inside and out. It starts internally before it gets to the external."
The organizers, U.N.I.T.Y. — that stands for "Uplifting Neighborhoods through Inclusion, Togetherness, and You(th)" — Collective, were making a name for themselves while hosting the community on Public Square. The leadership team includes Luzerne County Councilwoman Brittany Stephenson, Terrell Sabb, Daniel Valentin, Tiffanie Bigby and Rose Daniels.
"This was a group of community leaders who got together and sort of realized that we weren't sure if anyone was going to show up for Juneteenth this year, so we wanted to make sure that there was a community event active and available for everyone who's in the area," Stephenson said.
The family aspect of the block party was a point of emphasis for Sabb, who said the U.N.I.T.Y. team made personal phone calls and used their community organizational skills to spread the word about the block party.
"We wanted to bring the young families out to celebrate culture," Sabb said.
Sabb said that the next steps for U.N.I.T.Y. Collective crew will include shifting their focus to volunteer work and other events, but that the Juneteenth celebration will return in 2026.
The outreach, Stephenson said, begins by acting on the needs of the people around them. Thursday evening's celebration of Juneteenth was just a start.
"We'll definitely be connecting with other community organizations," Stephenson said, before adding, "but... we want U.N.I.T.Y. Collective to be able to meet the immediate need of the people that live here, so we think a lot of our future programs are going to be tailored directly to them and for them."
