Celebration of Juneteenth

Juneteenth (short for June 19) is a national holiday in the United States that commemorates the day in 1865 when federal forces arrived in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and ensure all enslaved people were freed. The Emancipation Proclamation had been issued by President Abraham Lincoln over two and half years earlier, ordering all slaves to be freed in the states that had seceded during the Civil War. Following Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender in Virginia, Union forces pushed into Confederate states, enforcing the order and liberating enslaved people.

Historians recognize May 20, 1865, as Emancipation Day in Florida, as it marks the day when Gen. Edward McCook arrived in Tallahassee to read the Emancipation Proclamation. A month later, on June 19, the Union soldiers arrived in Texas.

Later that year, on December 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment was ratified, formally abolishing slavery in the United States. This year marks the 157th anniversary of Juneteenth, and it is the second year the day will be honored as a national holiday. It received this designation in 2021 when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.

• Common staples in Juneteenth celebrations include dressing well, preparing special dishes and attending social gatherings – all ways to defy the restrictions placed on enslaved people.

• Juneteenth is also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Cel-Liberation Day and Emancipation Day.

• Juneteenth is the oldest known holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.

• Juneteenth is the title of a novel by author Ralph Ellison.

• Some cities and groups have Miss Juneteenth contests and pageants.

• Strawberry soda pop was once a popular drink associated with celebrating the day.

• The Juneteenth Flag of Freedom is half red and blue, with a star in the middle. Each year, a Juneteenth Flag raising ceremony is held in Galveston, Texas.

We recognize that the United States as we know it was built at the often-fatal expense of forcefully enslaved Black people. We must acknowledge that much of what we know of this country today, including its culture, economic growth, and development has been made possible by the labor of enslaved Africans and their descendants who suffered the horror of the transatlantic trafficking, chattel slavery, and later on, dehumanization through segregation and Jim Crow laws. 

We acknowledge and remember those who did not survive the Middle Passage, those who were beaten and lynched as a result of White Supremacy, and those who are still suffering while fighting for their freedom. We are indebted to their labor and their unwilling sacrifice, and we must acknowledge the tremors that violence throughout the generations and the resulting impact and generational trauma is still felt and witnessed today. 

Today, we are indebted to their labor and the labor of many Black and Brown bodies that continue to work in the shadows for our collective benefit. (Adapted from NCORE 2022) 

To learn more about Labor Acknowledgements, read the article On Labor Acknowledgments and Honoring the Sacrifice of Black Americans by Dr. Terah Stewart --- Assistant Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs at Iowa State University

Read article on Labor Acknowledgement

• Singing of the post-Civil War hymn, “Lift Every Voice and Sing," which is often referred to as the Black national anthem.
• What is Juneteenth? A presentation by Jarrett Eady, a local historian.
• Live entertainment
• National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) Unity Stroll
• Family hustles (line dances)
• Closing remarks by Travell Oakes (T.O.), the assistant director of Multicultural and Leadership Development Center

• Host: Prisca Morisma
• DJ: DJ Jazzy Jeff
• Vocal Performance – Savannah Niarchos (FGCU student)
• Spoken Word Performance - Chad-Anthony Schloss (FGCU ’20)
• Spoken Word Performance - Nykealah Wright (FGCU student)

• Blendz by Exotika Candle - Keirra Wright  
• Chicly Mink Lash Boutique - Jai’Miya Greer (FGCU Student) 
• Fed By The Islands - Deborah Policard (FGCU Student) 
• Foundation Booking, LLC - Zanobia George  
• Gifted Hands/TS Painting Lounge - Terroncia Simon  
• Grow Your Non-Profit - Myrtle October  
• GRTNS, LLC - Craig Sirmons Jr.  
• K&E Medical Training Center - Jocelyne Clarke  
• Linda Slayz - Belinda Dantus  
• Mr. Wet Jet - Rayvon Solomon  
• PF Homes Investment, LLC - Yolande Petit  
• Severe Beauty - Ivane Severe 
• SomethingBlueTG, LLC - Lateasa Green  
• Spiff Made It - Jade Spivey  
• Taylor Made by Lyliah M. Taylor - Lyliah Skinner (FGCU Student) 
• The Hippie Circle, LLC - Camila Serna  
• Wajoliafricanwear - Jessica Wajoli

• JP’s Hot Fish - Jesse Peterson 
• Tamu Cupcakery Dessert - Monica Spivey

• Campus Life
• Center for Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
• Multicultural and Leadership Development Center
• National Pan-Hellenic Council

• Camillá Blakely – Student Success Counselor, Retention & Graduation Services 
• Terroncia Simon - Administrative Specialist, Advising - College of Education
• Maya Ryan - Resident Director, Office of Housing and Residence Life
• Travell Oakes (T.O.) - Assistant Director, Multicultural and Leadership Development Center

(from L-R Blakely, Oakes, Simon, Ryan) Photo Credit: Maddie Welch, FGCU ‘22

• Emmanuel Brown – Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. 
• Darion Edmead – Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. 
• Daniel Lawrence – Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. 
• Hadassah Desbrunes – Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. 
• Janelle Morant – Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. 
• Dasia Perryman – Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. 
• Christiana Joseph – Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. 
• Mykal Josie – Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.  
• Atierani McIntyre – Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. 
• Prisca Morisma – Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. (Unified Greek Association Advisor) 
• Evelyn Philistin – Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. (Unified Greek Association Advisor) 
• Eliana St. Louis – Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. 
• Christian Pineda - Unified Greek Association Advisor