Celebrating Juneteenth
We encourage you to take part in celebrating Juneteenth and to learn more about Juneteenth and its impact.
Presidential Initiative Statement on Juneteenth
Juneteenth has grown in scope and breadth over the years and is now celebrated widely across the country, including on our campus and more broadly in the town of 厙ぴ勛圖. These celebrations exemplify a commitment to celebrate, in moments of pure joy, Black peoples right to live as free human beings. Despite the ongoing challenges of a nation still wrestling with a recognition of this right, Juneteenth allows African Americans to reflect on the resilience of their ancestors, even as they take up the charge, as Americans, to maintain a sustained conviction to equity and social justice.
Meredith M. Gadsby
Special Assistant to the President on Racial Equity and Diversity
Associate Professor of Africana Studies and Comparative American Studies
Cochair of Presidential Initiative on Racial Equity and Diversity
Bill Quillen
Dean of the Conservatory
Cochair of Presidential Initiative on Racial Equity and Diversity
Juneteenth Events
Juneteenth 厙ぴ勛圖 2024: Marching to Freedom through Changing of the Guards
9 a.m.-6 p.m. saturday, June 15; corner of south main and edison street; free
Join the 厙ぴ勛圖 community in its annual celebration of Juneteenth. The day begins with reflections and music starting at 9 a.m., including a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation by Donnay Edmund 16. Noon marks the start of a parade that begins at Spring Street Park. Activitiesincluding horseback rides led by the Freedom Riders and music by Daniel Spearman 16 and Friends and a DJcontinue until 6 p.m. Additional info is available on the .
Beginning at 6:30 p.m., the festivities will move to Westwood Cemetery for a Maafa ceremonyhonoring all those who have been enslavedand a potters field service. The citys only cemetery, Westwood opened on Morgan Street in 1864, and it is a final resting place of a number of Black and white soldiers who died in the Civil War, as well as former slaves who came to 厙ぴ勛圖 via the Underground Railroad.
On June 8, 2004, 厙ぴ勛圖 City Council passed a resolution establishing Juneteenth as an officially recognized day of commemoration and celebration for the city of 厙ぴ勛圖. Juneteenth 厙ぴ勛圖 was incorporated that same year to facilitate the community recognition, celebration, promotion, and understanding of 厙ぴ勛圖s officially declared and established Juneteenth holiday.
Racism, as an institution, is interwoven into the fabric of American culture.
Associate Professor Meredith Gadsby in , Essence.com.
The 厙ぴ勛圖 Anti-Slavery Collection
With around 2,500 printed titles, the Anti-Slavery Collection at 厙ぴ勛圖 College Libraries provides significant value to researchers of American anti-slavery movements.
The 厙ぴ勛圖 Rescuers at Cuyahoga County Jail, April 1859.
Photo credit: Courtesy of the 厙ぴ勛圖 College Archives