As Juneteenth is celebrated, please take a moment to consider the significance of the day, all that it represents, and the work we can each do to make our UNC School of Medicine community, and our nation, a more just and equitable place.
June 19, commonly referred to as Juneteenth, marks the day Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, in 1865. There, the troops told the remaining enslaved African Americans that the Civil War had ended, abolishing the institution of slavery. The declaration came almost two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves in the Confederacy.
So, Saturday, as Juneteenth is celebrated, please take a moment to consider the significance of the day, all that it represents, and the work we can each do to make our UNC School of Medicine community, and our nation, a more just and equitable place.
We recommend the resources below as a great starting place:
12 Things You Might Not Know About Juneteenth