By Kharisma McIlwaine
Juneteenth, celebrated each year on June 19, commemorates the official end of slavery in the United States. It marks the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation — over two years after it was signed. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, honoring resilience, liberation, and the ongoing pursuit of racial justice while celebrating African American culture and achievements.
The Pennsylvania Juneteenth Initiative (PAJI), founded in 2019 by Ali Salahuddin and Michael Rashid, is a non-profit that provides information about the significance of Juneteenth through a series of cultural events. This year PAJI hosted its third annual Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant. Sonni King, executive producer of the Juneteenth Parade and member of PAJI, spoke with the SUN prior to the event.
The Pennsylvania Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant marked its third year with a milestone, welcoming its first-ever male contestant, who was crowned as the inaugural Juneteenth king.
“We have nine contestants and for the first time this year, we have a young man. We’ve been trying our best to get some guys in there, and we finally got a young man this year,” King said. “He is going to be our inaugural king. He is 18 and attending Coppin State University next year.
So, we’re excited about having him represent the Pennsylvania Juneteenth Initiative and representing Pennsylvania as our Juneteenth King.”
The Pennsylvania Juneteenth Pageant features three age-based divisions, each competing in a variety of categories.
The contestants and winners of this year’s Juneteenth Pageant. Contestant Jiselle Glenn, granddaughter of SUN publisher Catherine Hicks, appears 4th from right and in the second photo.
Photos courtesy: Catherine Hicks
“We have three different categories for the pageant,” she continued. “We have a Little Miss category, we have a Junior Miss category and a Miss category. The divisions are broken up by age. The little ones go from seven to 10, and then it goes from 11 to 14 for junior contestants and then 15 to 18 for our Miss category. They are doing different categories for the pageant. They have an introduction category where they introduce themselves to the judges, and judges are giving them points on poise, articulation and confidence. They have a talent category, where they have a two-minute prepared talent. They can do any kind of talent they want. They also have an evening wear category, which would be like a gown or a suit, where they are judged on their creativity and their looks. Then they have a question-and-answer category. The contestants will be asked a question, and they have up to two minutes to respond. They do not know what the questions are. So, they are being judged on their timely responses and the content of their response.”
The pageant’s recruitment efforts this year successfully connected with both church communities and Juneteenth’s core supporters.
“We did a big search at the churches this year,” King said. “A lot of times, we’ll get people from Juneteenth, like parents that know about it because they’ve been involved with Juneteenth. In some way, they’re either a participant, a sponsor, or they’ve been at the Juneteenth Parade and Festival. They know the pageant is a new addition to our events so they bring their kids.”
Beyond crowns and cash prizes, winners receiving Juneteenth titles qualified them for state and national pageants, as well as a range of sponsored gifts.
“The winners receive cash awards,” King said. “They get a Juneteenth title, which means they can take that title and apply to be in a USA pageant. There are also a few statewide pageants that allow kids to join. They get a crown, they get a sash, and then they get prizes. Most of the prizes are things that we get from sponsorships… makeup, purses, nail polish and things like that. So, they get prizes, the title, a crown, and cash awards.”
The pageant’s preparation included monthly workshops designed to equip contestants with pageant and practical skills as well as cultural knowledge.
“This year, we did workshops on team bonding,” King said. “We did workshops on wardrobe, public speaking, confidence, and we also did the history of Juneteenth. We did four hours every Sunday for the month of May. We prepared them for the things that you need to know to have the confidence to be in the pageant and we do a big lesson on the history of Juneteenth.”
This year’s pageant rose to new heights at Philadelphia’s historic National Constitution Center, and was enhanced by an impressive lineup of special guests.
“For me, it is a really big deal to have the pageant at the National Constitution Center. It’s at 6 p.m. sharp,” King said. “We have some guest judges. We have Miss Pennsylvania 2024, Ms. Pennsylvania USA will be there, [and] Ms. Juneteenth USA. We have a lot of guest judges coming to spice it up. Gary Shepherd is our guest host for the evening. We are also giving out specialty awards to our kids. So, this year should be quite special.”
Register for next year’s pageant at: www.juneteenthphilly.org and click the pageant link to sign up.
Leave a Comment