Unifying Community

Tucson Juneteenth Festival Wins Big at Social Venture Partners Tucson Fast Pitch Competition

By Loni Nannini

Larry Starks ended his three-minute pitch for the Tucson Juneteenth Festival with a modified quote from renowned abolitionist and journalist Frederick Douglass: “‘It is easier to raise strong children than to fix a broken man,’ but with your support we can do both.” 

Starks’ message, at Social Venture Partners Tucson Fast Pitch Program, resonated with the audience at the historic Fox Tucson Theatre, garnering $145,000 of the record $360,000+ awarded to eight local nonprofits at this year’s event in April.

Tucson Juneteenth was honored with the coveted $10,000 Tucson Electric Power “Power to the People” award and a $100,000 endowment from Arizona Complete Health, which is the first of its kind in the 10-year history of Fast Pitch. 

The funds are game changers for the all-volunteer nonprofit, according to Starks, president of Tucson Juneteenth Festival.

“I feel so blessed by these donations and sponsorships and the endowment. The endowment solidifies us as an entity, an agency and a community organization that is here to stay,” said Starks. “An endowment is in perpetuity. It is forever, so it shows that people believe in the mission of Tucson Juneteenth and everything we are doing for the community, not just for that day in June, but throughout the year.”

That mission began 55 years ago in the A Mountain neighborhood as a day of music, food and celebration organized by Bobby Dixon, Terry Wayne Dixon, Morris Doty and Robert Foley. They were inspired by the Juneteenth Festival started in Galveston, Tex., to commemorate June 19, 1865 – the date that enslaved people in Texas were informed of their freedom. 

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. 

Starks emphasized that the Tucson Juneteenth Festival remains a community-oriented event that welcomes everyone while promoting education and advocacy about Juneteenth and African American culture. 

“This is not a Black holiday. We want people to understand that it is a holiday brought about on American soil with Americans who happen to be Black,” said Starks. “When we come together, this celebration is about bringing community.”

The 2025 celebration at Kino Sports Complex welcomed more than 5,000 attendees. In addition to music, entertainment and food, the event featured speakers, art and cultural exhibits, a kid zone, vendors and community resources. 

“We are better together. When people come to the Juneteenth Festival, they see what Tucson, Pima County and Southern Arizona have to offer at its best,” said Starks.

“People are there to enjoy the vendors, the music, and to talk to each other. It is about who we are as people, not judging by color, religion or politics. We come together to celebrate as people who are free.”

Starks is dedicated to engaging individuals, businesses and other nonprofits and creating collaborations with local and state governments and charitable foundations.

“Tucson Juneteenth Festival is cultivating a community of unity while celebrating African American culture and history,” said Brittany Battle, director of Fast Pitch Tucson. “They often say that Tucson Juneteenth is a ‘movement and not a moment,’ and they have been bringing the community along for this movement.”

The movement has expanded to include year-round initiatives such as the Black Men’s Healing Space, monthly meetings that prioritize mental health and connect Black men in healthy ways; and the Legacy Program, which focuses on teaching self-responsibility and self-determination to young Black men who have been involved with the justice system. The program includes a trip to the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Ala., to examine the roots of slavery. 

“Our Legacy Program was created out of our call to action to reach young men of color at an early age,” said Starks. “We know we have to be there for them, and it is better to do that when they are young and willing to listen.”

For more information or to support the Tucson Juneteenth Festival, visit https://tucsonjune19.org/. 

Pictured above – Larry Starks, President, Tucson Juneteenth Festival. Photo courtesy Social Venture Partners