Dallas Southern Pride Honors the Intersection of Juneteenth and Pride Month

June has no shortage of Pride Month events in Dallas, and among the most reliable staples of this glorious time of year is an event at the intersection of two communities.

Juneteenth Unity Weekend, which will be held from June 19-22 in various Dallas locales, provides spaces for Black North Texans who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. These events began in 1997 and are courtesy of the Dallas Southern Pride organization, which describes itself as "the official annual celebration for Black Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans and Queer (LGBTQ) individuals.”

Now nearly 30 years on, and across four consecutive days, Juneteenth Unity has expanded on the communal unity and unabashed queer energy that defined the organization’s earliest days. For some North Texans, those qualities are more vital than ever.

“The Dallas queer scene is so much larger than back home,” says Shondrel Oritz, who originally hails from Mississippi. “However, I do think it’s a lot harder to make connections with other queer people here because the scene is so large. Being from a place that’s so small and conservative, we all just kind of find each other and stick together and make a strong, supportive community.”

That sense of unity is reflected in the name of Unity Weekend’s first event on Thursday, June 19, for a Juneteenth summit called "We The Community.” Here, panel discussions and health screenings will provide insight into what Dallas Southern Pride describes as "real talk on Black wellness." Later that day, the free Thirsty Thursday Mixer at the Crowne Plaza Hotel will commence. This shindig emphasizes a "casual" atmosphere heavy on games and food. Held from 7 p.m. to midnight, this mixer offers one of the weekend’s more relaxed moments to bond.

Friday's events kick off with a second Juneteenth Community Summit before the Welcome Reception gets underway at The Statler Hotel. After that, night owls can hit the Invade Dallas Night Party, which begins at 10 p.m. at Thrive Nightclub.

Saturday features Dallas Southern Pride’s main event — the official Juneteenth Pool Party will begin at 4 p.m. at the Village Beach Club with DJs, dancers and more. Finally, on Sunday, the weekend will wind down with a party at the XOXO Dining Room in East Dallas.

Though these are largely adult-skewed events, they offer a wide array of queer interests and sensibilities and focus on safe spaces. As many queer gatherings are so often catered to white perspectives, for attendees like Ortiz, Juneteenth Unity Weekend is a welcome balm to exclusionary norms.

“If the only queer spaces I had access to were catered towards cis white gay men, I would simply stay home,” says Ortiz. “Even within the queer community, everyone’s experiences are so unique and we all deserve to feel welcome in spaces made for us when we’re already excluded from so much.”

That ethos, which conceived Unity Weekend, still reverberates in 2025, as this year has seen ramped-up aggression toward the queer community— the event’s emphasis on Black LGBTQ+ joy feels like a radical act.

For more details on Dallas Southern Pride Presents: Juneteenth Unity Weekend events, click here.