by Juliette Rihl
On Friday morning, roughly 50 purple and white balloons filled the East Pittsburgh sky to honor the memory of Antwon Rose II. Two years ago on this day, the unarmed Black teenager was shot and killed by a white East Pittsburgh police officer as he fled a traffic stop.
The crowd of a few hundred people at the balloon release fell quiet. A solo drummer’s beat marked the tribute.
Friday marks a significant and complicated day for African-American history and Black Pittsburgh-area residents.
Not only is it the tragic day Rose was killed, but it’s also Juneteenth, a national celebration of the end of slavery. Specifically, Juneteenth honors the day in 1865 that enslaved African-Americans in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
The gravity of the day is intensified by the ongoing national conversation prompted by the killing of George Floyd and other Black Americans at the hands of police.
It is the 21st day of rallies, marches, protests and other demonstrations in Pittsburgh.
Friday’s East Pittsburgh action was organized by entertainment company ROC Nation, community organization Young Black Motivated Kings and Queens [YBMKQ], 1Hood Media and Rose’s mother, Michelle Kenney.
Kahlil Darden, CEO of Young Black Motivated Kings and Queens, before a billboard commemorating Antwon Rose II. (Photo by Jay Manning/PublicSource)
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