{"id":69482,"date":"2023-06-14T08:49:14","date_gmt":"2023-06-14T15:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=69482"},"modified":"2023-06-14T08:58:20","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T15:58:20","slug":"celebrating-juneteenth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/celebrating-juneteenth\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating Juneteenth"},"content":{"rendered":"

In January 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared almost three million enslaved people living in Confederate states free. More than two years later, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform the last enslaved people of their freedom. Juneteenth is the official recognition of that day.<\/p>\n

It was not until 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law, commemorating the emancipation of the enslaved African Americans, that the freedom of all U.S. citizens would officially be celebrated.<\/p>\n

\u201cCelebrating Juneteenth is the opportunity to remember the struggle and sacrifices many have experienced to achieve freedom and equality,\u201d said Justin Mallett<\/strong>, NAU vice president of inclusion, diversity and engagement. \u201cWe should all utilize this day to remember and reflect on how a collective voice will reemphasize our commitment to equity and civility.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJuneteenth serves as a reminder to everyone that formally enslaved people have a rich history and contribute to the making of our country,\u201d said Deborah Harris, executive director of the Southside Community Association.<\/p>\n

Officially made an NAU holiday by President Jos\u00e9 Luis Cruz Rivera<\/strong>, the NAU and Flagstaff community is encouraged to participate in a variety of events, put on by the Coconino County African Diaspora Advisory Council, Northern Arizona University Diversity Commissions and Southside Community Association, taking place June 16-18.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese events bring our community together and educate us about other cultures,\u201d Harris said. \u201cWhile this national holiday is a step in the right direction, it does not mean there is not a lot of work still to be done to make our country inclusive.\u201d<\/p>\n

June 16, 5-10 p.m.\u20142nd Annual Juneteenth Gala<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This event, for which ticket sales have already ended, is designed to celebrate and award Flagstaff citizens who have contributed to the community and support the work of the Southside Community Association’s Lived Black Experience Project.<\/p>\n

June 17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.\u2014Juneteenth Celebration<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This event, which is free and open to the community, will include music, vendor booths, educational activities, food and games. Stop by the South Beaver School, 506 S. Beaver St., for a day full of fun for the whole family.<\/p>\n

June 18, 5-7 p.m.\u2014Gospel Concert<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Held at the Christ\u2019s Church of Flagstaff, 3475 Soliere Ave., this free event will showcase local gospel singers and include members from the Freedom Impact Center in Phoenix.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope you will participate in\u00a0these events,\u201d said Kimberley Robinson, project coordinator at the Lived Black Experience Project. \u201cBut more importantly, commit yourself to having a potentially uncomfortable dialogue regarding the controversial aspects of this country’s past and realize that fearlessly addressing the unpalatable portions of America’s history will only elevate our future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In January 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared almost three million enslaved people living in Confederate states free. More than two years later, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform the last enslaved people of their freedom. Juneteenth is the official recognition of that day. It was not until 2021, when President Joe Biden signed…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":69490,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}