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~ The WPA (Pittsburgh) Juneteenth Celebration is now the largest in nation, per Placer.ai, seeing over 100,000 attendees from across the county ~
Greetings All,
This William B. Marshall, founder of Stop the Violence Pittsburgh ("STVP") and since 2013, with various partners and donors, we have successfully produced various events and programs inside Allegheny County that has brought in thousands of out-of-town guests, and generated millions of dollars in economic income for southwestern PA.
The attached Report covers our economic impact for our small, minority business community during our 2026 Juneteenth Celebration and Pittsburgh Soul Food Festival events.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Before we talk about our 2026 Economic achievements, we have to acknowledge our major Partners and Donors of this year's Arts & Culture, Healthcare, and Economic & Tourist programming.
PARTNERS
PA Senator Jay Costa, and Commonwealth of PA | PA State Rep Aerion Abney, and Commonwealth of PA | Allegheny Co. Executive Sara Innamorato, Main Streets Allegheny Co. Program | The Heinz Endowments | UPMC | Dollar Bank | Highmark Healthcare | The POISE Foundation
BLACK BUSINESS ECONOMIC DISPARITY IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY- PITTSBURGH
Allegheny County has approximately 33,812 employee-based businesses, plus 91,967 non-employee establishments for a total of 125,779 active businesses per current news reports.
Of the total number of Allegheny County businesses, that being125,779, the number one African American Online News Agency in southwestern PA - The Soul Pitt - list an African American Business Directory for Allegheny County with approximately 826 Black Businesses, and as recent as October 3rd, 2026, informs us that 30%, or 247 of those listed businesses, are now inactive - bringing its total number of African American businesses in Allegheny Country - Pittsburgh, down to 579.
VisitPITTSBURGH (our local Visitors Bureau) has a Black Business Food & Drink Directory identifying approximately 82 African American businesses in Allegheny County, and of its current listing of Black bars, food trucks and restaurants, some 38 of those businesses are no longer in operation, bring that total listing down to 44 known businesses.
STVP FESTIVAL HISTORY
In 2013, after suffering the brutal murders of two family members, we started the group STVP with the goals of curbing youth and adult violence, educating the community on African American History, and celebrating Black cultural and heritage and held our first event - Juneteenth/Increase the Peace at Stage AE Pittsburgh with a merger 55 attendees (Stage AE's then cap. was 3,000 people).
By 2019, while continuing to produce Juneteenth events in Pittsburgh, we were invited to the State capitol to participate in an event with then-Governor Tom Wolff along with some 15 other state-wide Juneteenth Organizations after we had lobbied the Pennsylvania Legislator to make Juneteenth a state-wide, paid-leave holiday. We were successful in getting our PA Legislators to make Juneteenth a state holiday.
Also in 2019, after learning the rich history surrounding Black entrepreneurs and food operators starting in the1700s, in Downtown Pittsburgh, we produced the Pittsburgh Soul Food Festival - A SOULFUL TASTE OF THE BURGH in honor of these Black businessmen and to highlight African American cuisine.
And in 2020-21, STVP was able to lobby Pittsburgh City and County Council Members, and then-Mayor Bill Peduto and Executive Rich Fitzgerald into making Juneteenth a city-wide and county-wide, paid leave holiday which came into effect in 2021; BEFORE the Federal Government made Juneteenth a national holiday.
By 2021, because of our event strategy of providing FREE national entertainment, STVP began to realize that our festival programs were bring in thousands of tourists to Allegheny County. We then partnered with VisitPITTSBURGH (our Regional Visit Bureau) to access the impact our events on the economy.
In 2022, VisitPITTSBURGH issued its first survey reports on our Juneteenth, and Black Music Celebration in Downtown Pittsburgh to determine how we were benefiting corporate businesses in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.
VisitPITTSBURGH determined that:
- our 2022, 2-Day Juneteenth Festival generated about $1.7 million for corporate Businesses via tourism, saw approximately 35,000 attendees, with 10% being from out of town, coming in from DC, Philly, NY, Charlotte, LA, Tampa, Buffalo, Cleveland, Providence, and Saint Petersburg; and found that,
- our 2022, Black Music Festival generated about $1.4 million for corporate Businesses via tourism, saw some 22,000 attendees with 37% being from out-of-town, coming in from Youngstown, Buffalo, Philly, NY, Cleveland, Chicago, Harrisburg and Rochester See Below Report
In 2023, VisitPITTSBURGH conducted another economic impact survey to find out how our festival activities benefited Allegheny County corporate businesses. They determined that:
- our 2023 Juneteenth generated $3.5 million via tourism, saw approximately 50,000 attendees with some 21% being from out-of-town, coming in from Boston, Milwaukee, Philly, Youngstown, Wheeling, Dayton, Orlando, DMV, Houston, Melbourne, Detroit and Steubenville
- our 2023 BMF generated $1.7 million via tourism, saw an estimated 17,000 attendees who came from Chicago, Cincinnati, Atlanta, DC, LA, Winston-Salem, NY, Richmond, Scranton, Greensboro, and Oregon
- our 2023 Soul Food Fest generated $2.7 million for corporate businesses via tourism, saw approximately 22,000 attendees with 22% being from out-of-town See Reports Below
Through 2022-2023, based on VisitPITTSBURGH recording, we generated over $11 million dollars for corporate businesses in Allegheny County and saw an estimated 146,000 attendees.
By 2024, we saw an estimated 60,000 attendees at the WPA Juneteenth and 29,000 at the Pittsburgh Soul Food Festival.
By 2025, the New Pittsburgh Courier reported approximately 75,000 attendees at the WPA Juneteenth, and we estimated some 31,000 at the Pittsburgh Soul Food Festival.
This year, using Placer.ai (data collection agency), we estimated over 100,000 attendees at Juneteenth and some 40,000 guests at the Pittsburgh Soul Food Festival.
OUR 2026 SMALL BUSINESS VENDOR SALES REPORT
WHY WE STARTED THIS ECONOMIC PROGRAM FOR MINORITY BUSINESSES
In 2021, we started our small business vendor plaza after learning about the many reports on deplorable living conditions that Black people suffered in Allegheny County and Pittsburgh. For example,
- In 2007 and 2015, Pitt Prof Larry E. Davis issued his monumental Report titled: "PITTSBURGH'S RACIAL DEMOGRAPHICS: DIFFERENCES AND DISPARITIES", explaining how in all areas of life, Black and White residents of Allegheny County - Pittsburgh were experiencing difference social, economic, educational and health conditions and how the Black community was suffering under this difference. Unfortunately, nothing was done by Public Leadership to address these disparities.
- In 2019, Pitts Department of Social Studies issued yet another report titled: "PITTSBURGH'S INEQUALITY ACROSS GENDER AND RACE", again highlighting the inequalities in social, economic, medical, and educational conditions Black people in general, and Black women in particular, suffered in this region. The Report went on to suggest that Black people from Pittsburgh would experience a better quality of life just by moving to another local.
- Then in 2021-22, Pitt Prof Ralph Bangs wrote yet another Report titled: "PITTSBURGH'S DEPLORABLE BLACK LIVING CONDITIONS", reminding anyone that would listen, the conditions suffered by Black people in Allegheny County - Pittsburgh were some of the most DEPLORABLE in the nation. In his Report, Prof. Bangs provided a roadmap for Public Officials, Foundations and Corporate Businesses to help improve the living-conditions by Black people in this regional.
Again, since 2021, along with celebrating African American culture, history and achievements with our festival activities, another mission of this programming is to help our minority business community experience an economic impact with these events.
This year we are proud to report that approximately 154 Sales Vendors* participated in our Juneteenth and Pittsburgh Soul Food Festival for a total of 7-days of activities. That with those 7-days, these small businesses generated approximately $1,062,260 dollars by purchasing items and selling food and materials during these events.
Also, from our previous festival statistical reports, we can modestly estimate that our corporate businesses in Allegheny County and Downtown Pittsburgh generated over $15 million in economic impact from our events.
We encourage to CLICK HERE to review the attached Small Business Vendors Economic Report and the below attachments, as we look forward to greater opportunities in 2027.
Thank you for your time.
B. Marshall, Founder STVP
StoptheViolencePgh.com
Wpajuneteenth.com
724-205-9376
* This Report does not include Health and Wellness, nor Information Vendors that participated in our 2026 events, raising our total vendor participation to over 200 businesses.
VisitPITTSBURGH ECONOMIC IMPACT SURVEY REPORTS
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STVP 2026 SMALL BUSINESS VENDORS ONE SHEET
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