Office of the President
University statements
June 17, 2022
To the Campus Community,
Juneteenth — officially known as Juneteenth National Independence Day when it was signed into law by President Joseph R. Biden in 2021 — celebrates its first full year as a federally recognized holiday. While widespread cultural awareness and recognition of Juneteenth are relatively recent, the roots of Juneteenth celebrations run deeply through Black American culture.
A contraction of "June" and "nineteenth" — Juneteenth observes the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans when, on June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to declare the end of the Civil War and freedom of enslaved people. Even this military order did not immediately spell freedom for many of the 250,000 enslaved people in Texas. The day has endured as a touchstone for Black Americans to celebrate their history, to continue to stand for racial equality as well to speak out against social injustices. Unfortunately, the day also is a constant reminder that, even today, equality, and social justice for Black Americans, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) remains elusive.
