Freedom + Juneteenth
A Night of Jubilation
June 7, 2025
presented by Pease Park Conservancy & Art Is Cool
Freedom + Juneteenth 2024 included a Panel: Curating Community In Your Own Backyard, Ballet Afrique Dance Performance, music by DJ Cool Cobi and Stefon Osae, food by Big Mayne BBQ and Dirty South Bowl, a vendor market, and activations like a poetry workshop and sip & paint. This event was supported by the City of Austin Heritage Tourism Division.
These organizations and individuals made this event a fun-filled evening for all attendees!
Candyce Hunt
Black Life ATX
Career Wellness Strategist & Podcaster at 5 Minute Career Hack™, Candyce draws from over two decades of leadership across retail, hospitality, and media sectors, including Kohls, Ross and Dollar General.
She passionately fosters success through leadership development, empowering individuals to pivot confidently in their careers and supporting organizations across all industries. As an authenticity-driven multigenerational empowerment guru, Candyce ignites personal and professional growth journeys.
Bryan Edwards
SPACES
Bryan is a Husband, Entrepreneur, and Community Connector. He is a co-founder, along with his wife Jane, of Spaces. Bryan, a St. Louis native, grew up in a hard-working family, that instilled in him the important value of kinship which fuels his efforts.
The idea of Spaces originated after the 3rd annual Celebrate Black Austin tour. This insightful tour highlights the dynamic gem that is East Austin. After planning this tour and working with local partners, Bryan and Jane saw a need to continue the work of uplifting communities and creating spaces where people who look like us, feel like they belong. And thus, Spaces was born. The work of Spaces encompasses elements of community organizing, community development, and cultural advocacy, all of which are interconnected and contribute to building stronger, more vibrant, and more equitable communities. At Spaces, we want you to know that we see you, you belong, you matter, and you deserve to take up space.
Brandon Boone
Where Y’all At Though
Brandon Boone is a Husband, Creative Entrepreneur, Community Builder, and Travel Enthusiast based in Austin. He's also the co-founder of Where Y'all At Though?!, an Austin-based community organization dedicated to empowering local black and brown residents amidst gentrification. Our mission is to amplify our voices, fostering connection and resilience in a city undergoing rapid change. With a commitment to holding space for those displaced, we strive to preserve and strengthen our vibrant community fabric.
Cierra Madison
Sunday Sessions
Cierra, aka Wyldflower, blooming in Austin but hailing from Detroit, is the founder and host of Sunday Sessions, a DJ, builder, spiritualist, & wellness champion.
She studied architecture, herbalism, and continues to study many other subjects. As a DJ & music fanatic, she’s heavily influenced by Classic & Soulful sounds, but her styles & interests are as expansive as her travels have been. As a human, she's a champion of anything that supports our collective liberation and believes community is an integral part of that pursuit.
Dr. Javier Wallace
Black Austin Tours
Dr. Wallace is the Race and Sport Postdoctoral Associate in the African and African American Studies Department at Duke University. He completed his Ph.D. at UT Austin. Javier’s research revolves around race, class, gender, labor migration, nationality, and transnationalism of athletes from the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean. Javier's first book project is Sueños del Norte: Black Panamanian Hoop Dreams & the Realities of Basketball Trafficking. Javier earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Florida A&M University, one of the country’s premier HBCUs, where he also played offensive lineman. He is of U.S. and Panamanian heritage and served as athletic director and physical educator in the Republic of Panama. Javier is the founder of Black Austin Tours and co-founder of the social entrepreneurial projects—AfroLatinx Travel and BlackPackas.
Brittney Williams
Origin Studio House
Brittney is an interior designer and expert in hospitality design, cultural curation and storytelling. She's worked for two of the leading hospitality groups in Austin: MML Hospitality and Emmer and Rye Hospitality Group. Brittney developed an expertise in retail as a buyer at ByGeorge in Austin and honed her skills in client experience at BDDW in New York.
Some of Brittney's notable design contributions include Swedish Hill in Austin, Tx., Hotel Saint Vincent in New Orleans, La, Clark's Oyster Bar in Aspen,Co., Joann’s Fine Foods in Austin, Tx., Outdoor Voices in Los Angeles, Ca., Client Experience at BBDW in New York and several custom luxury residences for high-profile celebrity clients. Brittney majored in Urban Studies under Eugene Lang at The New School in New York City. She was born and raised in Austin, Texas.
Funmi Ogunro
Art Is Cool
Funmi is a Nigerian-American Lonestar Emmy-nominated film director and editor. She was a part of the editorial team for Phat Tuesdays, an Amazon original series. Funmi recently edited an award-winning documentary titled Parker, which premiered at Sundance 2023. Funmi has over 10 years of experience in non-scripted and scripted film/television, collaborating with major companies such as Amazon, PBS, Youtube (Youtube Originals), PopSugar, Quibi, and Bunim-Murray. She was awarded a National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) Award for her work on the national TV series American Graduate funded by the Corporation of Public Broadcasting and distributed on PBS. Funmi is currently developing a feature-length documentary about the history of Black freedom communities in Austin.
