Jefferson School and Black Business Expo join forces to celebrate and uplift Black community members

The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center and Charlottesville Albemarle Black Business Expo combine forces on June 20 for their third annual joint event. The all-day gathering is the culmination of months of preparation and years of history.

Before coming to the Jefferson School, Charlottesville’s Juneteenth Celebration was held at Piedmont Virginia Community College and organized by Maxine Holland and Tamyra Turner, who is credited with founding the city’s first official Juneteenth event in 2000. 

In the roughly 10 years since the celebration came to the Jefferson School, the event has shifted to become more celebratory, according to JSAAHC Executive Director Andrea Douglas.

“Wherever you are participating, what you’re participating in is an event that celebrates the moment of freedom,” she says. “In Charlottesville that moment is actually March 3, it’s not June 19. But Galveston, and getting to Galveston … represents a process, and we are calling attention to that longer process.”

JSAAHC has been working on this year’s Juneteenth Celebration since at least December. Much of that time has been dedicated to assembling the parade—now the only parade in Charlottesville since the retirement of the Dogwood Festival. The parade will be marshaled by Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce President Andrea Copeland, and will start at Burley Middle School and finish at the Jefferson School City Center.

Before lining up at Burley, JSAAHC employees and volunteers will start the morning by setting up tents for the Charlottesville Albemarle Black Business Expo around 6am.

Douglas and expo co-founder Ty Cooper work closely together, with the Jefferson School taking the lead on Juneteenth coordination while Cooper handles planning with vendors, panelists, and the business pitch competition.

This year marks the 10th annual expo, which began as a response to the descent of the alt-right on Charlottesville in August 2017. More than 40 vendors will be at the expo this year, with several more on the waitlist in case a spot opens up, according to Cooper. Interest in the business pitch is similar, with six participants competing for the $1,500 prize and three more on standby hoping for a spot to open up.

“There’s no parameters … you do not have to have a current business, it could just be an idea,”  says Cooper. “But if you pitch it well, and it’s something that the judges feel as though it has legs, then it deserves a prize, no matter if you have it running today or you may not have it running [for] five years.”

Previous winners of the business pitch include Carrington Epperson, owner of vegan bakery Chanterelle Cafe, and Casandra Rodriguez, who runs Vegan Comforts Soul Food. 

“Come through, take note, get some business cards, and then put them on your refrigerator when you go home, or take a picture on your phone,” says Cooper. “This is not just for Black people, this is to support Black-owned businesses. … We have a reggae artist performing, who’s international. We have a jazz/R&B group performing. This is music. This is for everyone.” 

The Juneteenth Celebration and Charlottesville Albemarle Black Business Expo will begin at 9am on June 20. More information on the schedule of events and vendors can be found at cvilleblackbusinessexpo.com.

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