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The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at St. James AME Church SEE PAGES A6, A8
Pittsburgh Courier NEW
www.newpittsburghcourier.com Vol. 116 No. 25 Two Sections
JUNE 18-24, 2025
thenewpittsburghcourier Published Weekly $1.00
Juneteenth to feature some of R&B and Hip-Hop’s best Four days of jam-packed performances at Mellon Park, June 19-22
R&B LEGEND DONELL JONES AND RAP SUPERSTAR JADAKISS ARE AMONG THE SEVERAL ARTISTS PERFORMING AT THIS YEAR’S JUNETEENTH, AT MELLON PARK, JUNE 19-22, 2025.
by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
Juneteenth in Pittsburgh has a new location, but all of the artists are familiar faces and voices that’s sure to bring out
the masses. For fans of R&B music, Mellon Park in Shadyside/ East Liberty will be its headquarters from June 19-22. Morris Day and The Time, 702, Donell Jones, Dru Hill, Jon B.,
and The Blackbyrds are just some of the artists who will grace the Stop The Violence Pittsburgh 2025 Juneteenth Celebration stage. This year’s Juneteenth festivities again had the
back-and-forth jabs between Juneteenth leader B. Marshall and City of Pittsburgh officials, as in some previous years. The city issued the needed permit for B. Marshall to use Mellon Park, but not
until Friday, June 13, six days before the event. But if anyone knows B. Marshall, it’s nearly impossible to stop him. “Not only does it provide an economic impact for our own community,
but psychologically and emotionally and mentally, Black people need this type of release from the everyday struggles that SEE JUNETEENTH A5
PPS students getting a jumpstart on a college education Thanks to Pitt’s Justice Scholars Institute by Maia Williams
For New Pittsburgh Courier On May 8, the University of Pittsburgh School of Education's Justice Scholars Institute (JSI) celebrated the high school students from Pittsburgh Milliones, Perry and Westinghouse in its program at its annual symposium, held at the O’Hara Student Center in Oakland. Many of the students who were seniors at the symposium presented research that they performed on social justice issues affecting their communities. Their work was displayed to an audience of more than 100 educators, administrators and supporters. Founded in 2016 by Dr. Esohe Osai, the Justice
Scholars Institute is a college prep program that allows Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) students in grades 9–12 earn college credit while still in high school. Courses are taught by partner teachers at Westinghouse, Perry and Milliones, building on students’ existing relationships with them as educators. In the 2024–25 school year, 137 students were enrolled in the program taking classes such as Argument, U.S. History and Theories of Leadership. Dr. Osai, who also serves as program director, said she was inspired to create the program after noticing disparities in college completion rates among Black SEE PPS A4
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KAYLA BUTLER, a graduating senior at Westinghouse, with Eric Roberts, at the Justice Scholars Institute Symposium and Celebration, May 8, in Oakland.