Happy Juneteenth!

Good morning Colleagues,

You will recall that last year, President Biden signed legislation establishing June 19, “Juneteenth”, as a federal holiday. Juneteenth commemorates the end of legal slavery in the United States and has been celebrated annually in various parts of the country since 1865. The holiday also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day and Emancipation Day was first celebrated in Texas when Major General Gordon Granger landed in Galveston and shared the news that the Civil War had ended two and a half years earlier and that the enslaved people were declared free under the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation.

I encourage you to engage in the various Juneteenth celebrations happening in our communities this weekend, including, but not limited to:

Fresno Juneteenth Festival
June 16-20, 2022
http://fresnojuneteenth.com/

Juneteenth Freedom Run/Walk
June 20, 2022
Woodward Park, Fresno
https://www.juneteenthfreedomrun.com/

Sincerely,

Dr. Carole Goldsmith
Chancellor