America’s best weekly Courier celebrates the 2024 Pittsburgh Pride Parade See Pages A4-5
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www.newpittsburghcourier.com Vol. 115 No. 24 Two Sections
JUNE 12-18, 2024
A COURIER SPECIAL REPORT
Some 30 years ago, WAMO began ‘Juneteenth’ celebrations in Pittsburgh Courier takes a historical look at Juneteenth in Pittsburgh
JUNETEENTH WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE SUMMER FOR A GENERATION OF PITTSBURGHERS WHO CHERISHED RADIO STATION WAMO IN THE ‘90S. IN THE PHOTO AT RIGHT IS BEYONCE KNOWLES AS DESTINY’S CHILD PERFORMED AT WAMO’S JUNETEENTH, AND IN THE PHOTO AT LEFT WERE WAMO’S NIGHT SHOW DJS IN THE LATE ‘90S, TEE JAY AND DJ BOOGIE, WITH FANS. (PHOTOS COURTESY KIKI BROWN/WAMO)
by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
Before Highmark Stadium and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds... Before the “T” went un-
derwater and over to the North Side... Before they renamed the stadium “Cupples” Stadium... There was something that thousands of African
Americans attended each June, but the vast majority of the young people who attended never understood the significance of; WAMO’s “Juneteenth” celebration.
THE FIRST JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION IN PITTSBURGH The date was Saturday, June 19, 1993. A nice
day outside. If you were WAMO general manager Alan Lincoln, it was the perfect day to make history, as WAMO set up a stage in a parking lot used for a Farmers Market on
the North Side, near the old Allegheny Center Mall and the current Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. It was promoted as WASEE JUNETEENTH A3
Valerie Dixon, community activist who lost son to gun violence, dies at 63 by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
Tim Stevens, Chairman and CEO of the Black Political Empowerment Project, recalled the day that he met Valerie Dixon. It was at an anti-violence event in the Hill District in July 2001, two weeks after Dixon's son, Robby, was shot and killed. Dixon's pain, her hurt, her sadness was "converted into a mission," Stevens told the New Pittsburgh Courier. The next 23 years, Dixon was front and center in the fight against violence in Pittsburgh. Sometimes, the fight against violence in Pittsburgh seems like a never-ending fight. But Dixon didn't care. It was her mission to be there for other mothers who may have lost their son to gun violence. It was her mission to make this city,
this region, a better, safer place for all. Valerie Dixon, surrounded by family, died at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital on Monday, June 3, from kidney disease. She was 63. "We hit it off right away," Stevens recalled about meeting Dixon two weeks after the death of her son on June 25, 2001. "She became one of my very closest friends on the planet. I got to visit her frequently in the different hospitals and rehab centers that she was in. She always kept her sense of humor even in the midst of all the ongoing physical challenges to her body." Dixon could always be seen in the community, whether it was with B-PEP, the Greater Pittsburgh Coalition Against
“Pittsburgh has lost another community advocate with the passing of Valerie Dixon. She worked tirelessly to combat violence in our neighborhoods, especially after losing her beloved son, Robert. Let’s offer our support and extend kindness to her family and friends as they grieve their loss. May her legacy of peace and understanding be a roadmap for how we all should continue to live.” - MAYOR ED GAINEY
SEE DIXON A7
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VALERIE DIXON