The scent of steamed and boiled seafood filled the air. Eli’s Barbecue added its own smoky note. Children laughed and played. Music drifted across Pioneer Park.

Under a clear sky, a cool breeze kept everyone comfortable as the City of Dunedin came together on a warm June evening to celebrate Juneteenth—a day of recognition, restoration, and celebration.

The Gathering

Presented by Dunedin Parks & Recreation, the event was free and open to all. Craft vendors lined the grass. Food vendors served up local favorites. Families spread out on blankets and folding chairs. Friends greeted friends they had not seen since last year’s celebration.

The evening was just like any other in Dunedin—except that it was not. It was a day set apart. A day to remember. A day to lift every voice.

The Entertainers and Vendors

The event featured a rich array of local talent and small businesses:

• Faith & Community: Mt. Olive AME Church, St. John Primitive Baptist Church
• Performers: Denisha AKA Thee Poetic Prophet, Crystal Latrece
• Food & Drinks: Eli’s BBQ, Jazzi’s Seafood, Treats by Jocelyn, LLC, N’fuzio Bliss Bites, Love Froyo, Sweet Ice in Paradise
• Activities & Artisans: Orlando 40+ Double Dutch Club, Wrapt by Rosie, Kar Xpressions, Black Jack Enterprise, LLC, X Stream Eventing, Jennifer Alexander

Special performances included the St. John Primitive Mass Choir, the Mt. Olive AME Mass Choir, Thee Poetic Prophet, and Crystal Latrece.

The Harmony of Liberty

The most moving moment of the evening came from this year’s speaker: Javante Scott, a young and gifted minister from St. John Primitive Baptist Church.

Scott is a native of Clearwater, Florida, a graduate of Clearwater High School and St. Petersburg College, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Policy and Administration. He has a passion for ministry, leadership, and community engagement.

He titled his address: “The Harmony of Liberty.”

“Freedom is not just for you,” Scott said. “Freedom is also for your neighbor. It requires us to be selfishly selfless.”

He spoke about perspective—how it has divided Americans, and how, until we shift our perspective, we will never be able to unite in the fight to harmonize liberty.

He reminded the crowd to be humble. “A humble person values the needs of others alongside their own. If you value your freedom, you will value the freedom of others.”

Then he said something that hung in the air: “Freedom is fragile.”

“If the creator gave you the right to choose, how is it that some human being ought to be able to take away your right to choose? You and I do not get to determine the private lives of others.”

Truth matters.

The History We Must Not Forget

Scott then walked the crowd through the history of Juneteenth, noting that while President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was enacted on January 1, 1863, Texas authorities and slave owners deliberately suppressed the news. Enslaved people there were kept in bondage until June 19, 1865, when federal troops arrived in Galveston to finally enforce their freedom.

That turning point is what we celebrate as Juneteenth.

But Scott added a harder truth: “The freeing of slaves was to win the Civil War. Truth matters. If we are not careful to preserve the truth, we will find ourselves not just believing a lie, but living a lie.“

He urged the crowd: Don’t forget the truth.

He recapped dark chapters in American history—Selma, communities burned to the ground, crimes committed against African American communities. He repeated the refrain:

“Don’t forget the truth. It is our responsibility.”

He pointed to voting rights: “If your vote did not matter, they would not try so hard to take it from you.“

And he reminded everyone that we are all immigrants. “You and I have a responsibility. If you cannot be free, then I cannot be free. If I cannot be free, then you cannot be free. If we cannot be free, then who is free?“

Lift Every Voice and Sing

Scott’s address was framed by the words of James Weldon Johnson, written nearly a century ago:

On this night, in Pioneer Park, those harmonies echoed.

A Personal Note

I stood at the edge of the crowd, notebook in hand, camera around my neck. Children ran past me, jump-roping, learning to Double Dutch from the ladies of the Orlando 40+ Double Dutch Club. Families shared plates of barbecue. The music swelled. The sun set behind the trees.

Juneteenth is a celebration. But it is also a reminder. A reminder that freedom is not automatic. It must be remembered, protected, and passed down.

Dunedin showed up. Dunedin listened. And Dunedin left with a charge: Don’t forget the truth.

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