Juneteenth Celebration

group of attendees smiling at the Juneteenth flag-raising

On June 21, 2022, the University of Utah held its first flag-raising in commemoration of Juneteenth. Juneteenth has been celebrated for over a hundred years, but only in 2022 did it become a federal holiday and a state of Utah holiday, to commemorate the day that the last enslaved Americans in Galveston, Texas were notified that they had been freed on June 19, 1865, two months after the surrender of the confederate forces at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. The end of Black chattel slavery is something that we can all celebrate, as we reconcile our national history with a brighter future.

The highlight of the celebration was the speakers that addressed us: Associate Professor Karen Johnson from the Department of Education, Culture and Society; Representative Sandra Hollins from the Utah State House of Representatives; Meligha Garfield, director of the Black Cultural Center at the University of Utah; and Robert Burch from the Sema Hadithi Foundation.

Representative Hollins sponsored the legislation that made Juneteenth a state holiday in Utah, making our state the ninth in the nation to do so.

I was fortunate to attend the event and to be the master of ceremonies for the flag-raising. It is my hope that as we celebrate the ending of the inhuman crime of slavery, we back our celebrations with meaningful change to ensure that freedom continues to bless all of us.

It is a time for us to remember and live the immortal words of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Together we can eliminate those threats, and occasionally celebrate victories like Juneteenth.

Attached is a photo of some of the attendees at the flag-raising.