Avery Ware always knew they wanted to create a space where Black and queer folks could celebrate Juneteenth. However, it wasn’t until May 2021 that the Cleveland-based higher education professional’s idea came into fruition during a transitional stage in their life.
“I always knew that I wanted to celebrate Juneteenth in a big way,” Ware recalled. “I just, like, kind of never had the opportunity or the space or like the time, you know, as life happens, going back to school, like all these things. So I remember I was riding down the road, and I was in the Starbucks parking lot. We don’t do Starbucks anymore, but at the time I was waiting for my Starbucks order and was just like, ‘Oh, Juneteenth is coming up, like, I should do something.’ I had a podcast with a creative partner and a friend of mine, so I called them and was like, ‘I want to do a Juneteenth cookout. I want to have a party, a DJ, food, and some drag’ because our podcast was about drag, and I just loved drag. I think the Cleveland drag scene was so slept on, but another conversation.”
They settled on calling the celebration Mx. Juneteenth and hosting it the weekend of the holiday. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce that over 250,000 enslaved people were free.
After committing to having the celebration in 2021, Ware decided to reach out to friends who are also Cleveland creatives, including former Blx Punx Press organizer and DJ Navy Jayde, who provided Mx Juneteenth with its first space in the organization’s parking lot.
Seven weeks after Ware’s call to action, the first celebration commenced.
“I think I saw Navy on Friday, maybe, and we were in a meeting together on like Monday or Tuesday, and then we announced, like, later that week,” Ware said. “I thought it was going to be a one-time thing, and then community members were like, when’s the next one? Is it coming back? So I was like, I guess we’re gonna do another one. Then 2022 rolled around, and now here we are into this thing I didn’t really see possible.”
Providing the community with the necessary resources
Six years after Ware developed Mx. Juneteenth, it has become a hub for Black and LGBTQ+ artists, entertainment, and community resources. From the beginning, STI and HIV testing have been available through Cleveland Heights’ Central Outreach.
“It’s always good to just know your status, especially as Black queer people, because we are the ones in communities that are usually underfunded and under-resourced,” Ware explained.
“So just to make sure that, like, you know your status, and it’s more of us bringing the service to folks rather than they have to go seek it out. You’re already here, you might as well go ahead, it’s free. Go ahead and get your prick and give them a test, you can know what’s going on with you, if anything.”
They added that the annual testing is a chance to provide medical care for Black and queer people who wouldn’t have access otherwise. Ware said many Mx. Juneteenth attendees have used the event to come out, which they said is “one of the greatest honors I could ever have.”
Mx. Juneteenth’s celebration of Black drag culture remains
While developing Mx. Juneteenth, Ware imagined a space where Black and queer liberation unite. However, they further shared that their vision hasn’t been well-received by Black, cishet Cleveland residents. Ware said some of the comments they’ve gotten are complaints that Mx. Juneteenth wants to “f-g up” or “drag up” the holiday, among other homophobic reactions. The comments and ongoing anti-LGBTQ+ initiatives like House Bill 249 – a ban created to, according to The Ohio House of Representatives – “safeguard children from adult harms and ensure that young people can grow up in environments that preserve their innocence,” are part of why Ware named the 2026 Mx. Juneteenth theme “Joy as Resistance.”
“Liberation looks exactly what we say it looks like, not by some prescribed approval from a white supremacist narrative, which is what they are operating by,” Ware declared. “The festival was grounded on that foundation that we are Black and queer at the same time, and you cannot affirm or unaffirm who we are, or who I am, or who I’m learning myself to be.”
“Our people have always found a workaround,” they added about the theme. “That’s where we get soul food from, that’s where we get the blues from. We always find a way to make it work. Drag is going to be a part of mixed Juneteenth for the very foreseeable future, no matter what.” 🔥
IGNITE ACTION
- Mx. Juneteenth kicks off with its pre-party on Friday, June 19, 2026, from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. at Cocktails Cleveland. Then, the festival starts on June 20, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at North Coast Yard, Cleveland’s downtown lakefront, followed by an after-party featuring artists Enigma and DJ Navy Jayde at Crobar from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. Mx. Juneteenth is open to all ages. For more info, visit their website by clicking here.
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