DSAES celebrates Juneteenth

DSAES News
July 21, 2022

Dear DSAES colleagues,

Last year, the Center for Diversity and Inclusion hosted the University of Houston’s first-ever Juneteenth celebration. Over the past year, this important day has become a federal holiday, as we have nationally begun to recognize its rightful historical legacy.

Sunday, June 19 will be the 157th anniversary of Juneteenth. It was on this day in 1865 that the Union Army arrived in Texas and freed its enslaved people, two years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation officially outlawed slavery in the U.S.

Texas was the first to recognize Juneteenth, and we are proud that our Division has brought prominence of this holiday to the UH campus community. I want to stress that our Division will continue to stand by ongoing efforts for social justice. We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, and our division’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee is making strides to make our division more inclusionary through training, education, and more resources to help guide us on our path.

We invite you to join the Center for Diversity and Inclusion’s Juneteenth celebration on June 16, which will feature a Juneteenth Gallery by the Student Center Theater and free t-shirts from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

We also encourage you to use that day as a time for reflection and rejoicing.

Best regards,

Daniel Maxwell, Ed.D.
Interim Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Services