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Film festival, golf tournaments and Freedom Crossing tour mark end to Juneteenth celebrations

Dewitt Lee (left) during the Niagara Falls Juneteenth Film Festival
Thomas O'Neil-White
/
WBFO News
Dewitt Lee (left) during the Niagara Falls Juneteenth Film Festival

This weekend brought a close, not only to the month of June, but also brought a close to Juneteenth celebrations in Western New York.

Two golf tournaments in Erie and Niagara Counties highlight the Juneteenth Closing Weekend. Friday evening is a children’s golf tournament at the Lasertron in the Town of Amherst.

Through the Diversitee Golf Association the tournament serves as a way to get more Black children into golf said Dewitt Lee, Founder of St. Brian Clothiers, another sponsor of the tournament.

“And their model is mantra, and mission is to diversify those who are exposed and enjoy the game of golf,” he said of Saturday’s children’s tournament. “So, it's a collection of mentors, many retired professionals who seek refuge on the golf course, and now this is their opportunity to give back and make sure that the kids in the inner city are not only familiar with the game of golf, but have someone to walk them through it.”

Sandwiched between the two golf tournaments was a Saturday film festival in Niagara Falls, highlighting Black talent from southern Ontario and western New York, working in front of and behind the camera.

“It's a collection of some incredible artists who put together the Black experience and all of its glory,” Lee said of the film festival. “And that's open for people's interpretation as well. But ultimately, you know, it's unapologetically the Black experience on screen.”

Also Saturday was a tour and celebration at the Freedom Crossing Monument in Lewiston.

The crossing was a pivotal place for the formerly enslaved to find freedom in Canada.

“A very significant place where freedom seekers found refuge in Canada,” he said. “And not just refuge, but found help and support. So, it's a place that has supported the liberation movement, and we want to learn more about it and build greater connections with these communities that have such rich history.”

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Thomas moved to Western New York at the age of 14. A graduate of Buffalo State College, he majored in Communications Studies and was part of the sports staff for WBNY. When not following his beloved University of Kentucky Wildcats and Boston Red Sox, Thomas enjoys coaching youth basketball, reading Tolkien novels and seeing live music.
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