Juneteenth: Creating An Epicenter of Joy For The Lay Out Community

While I was inspired to create The Lay Out following the painful murder of George Floyd, even the first gathering that was spearheaded by The Lay Out ’s “founding five” of myself, Bri McClain, Cyrus Aaron, Britteny Escovedo and Michael Oloyede on June 7th, 2020 was filled with joy as personal speakers blared and the community sang, played UNO and double dutched. Following the day’s event, I was lucky enough to meet Quiana Parks who said I should have DJ’s if we did any more events and she would love to play. As a half Texan who has never NOT been aware of the significance of Juneteenth and celebrated it at a young age, the decision for the founding five to throw our second edition of The Lay Out and our first annual Juneteenth on June 19th, 2020, with our first DJ sets as requested by Quiana Parks, was a no brainer.

Juneteenth is not just a day for Black Americans. The Declaration of Independence proclaims "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”, but unfortunately, this was not the case for all. 89 years passed after Independence Day in 1776 and over 250,000 enslaved Black Americans in Texas finally being notified that they were free on June 19th (Juneteenth) 1865, 2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect. Juneteenth is the day that this country finally began the journey towards living up to the words enshrined in the Declaration. That should be a cause for joy and celebration for all.

As thanked in our first Juneteenth post’s caption, we were lucky enough to have organizations and people like? Heal Haus, Evelina Restaurant, Relly Cooker, Makina Cafe and Wadadli Jerk, BLK ID Twins, Niara Sterling and Manushka Magloire who not only helped tremendously that day but joined the team when I asked her in July 2020, helping to grow The Lay Out over the next three years.?

With the support of this group and many, many more, a lot has changed since Juneteenth 2020 and The Lay Out's annual Juneteenth celebration is now one of Brooklyn’s biggest and most anticipated Juneteenth events (see press below) and where The Lay Out’s “Joy Ecosystem” fully comes to life. Everything that The Lay Out has come to stand for in our pursuit of joy -? Black Expression, Cooperative Economics and Social Impact - can be experienced over the course of this 8-hour event that drew over 8,000 attendees in 2023 and is expected to draw 10,000+ attendees for the 5th Annual Edition in a couple of months.

With the support of organizations like BBDO and Shea Moisture, our first sponsors, to HBO/ MAX, Infatuation, Amazon Music, Square/ Cash App and many more, we have been able to support the Black expression vertical through elements such dance and music, social impact via an annual giveaway of over 1,000lbs of fresh produce through One Love Community Fridge and cooperative economics through our? BuyBLK. ByBLK. Pop Up.?

As I countdown to this milestone celebration, there is still time for brands to get involved with this important American holiday and The Lay Out's never-ending pursuit of unadulterated joy. Holler!