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The 3rd annual Juneteenth Celebration at Canisius College will be held on Thursday, June 8, 2023.  All faculty, staff, and students are invited to share in a day of solidarity in honor of our African American community.  This year’s event begins at 9:00 a.m.  in the Science Hall Commons with a welcome by President Stoute and concludes after lunch at 1:00 p.m.  All are welcomed and encouraged to participate, and we ask that you please  RSVP  by Friday, June 2.

Click here to add this event to your digital calendar.

In collaboration with Juneteenth Inc. of Buffalo, Canisius will host a Sankofa Day as a part of the city-wide recognition.  Sankofa means to “go back and get,” it recognizes the past while focusing on the future.  Members of the campus and local community will participate in workshops, complete on-site service, and experience African Drumming.

Juneteenth commemorates the anniversary of the date when news of emancipation finally reached most enslaved African Americans in Texas, and Canisius is proud to honor this day. It was on June 19, 1865, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger along with more than 1,800 federal troops, arrived in Galveston, TX, to take control of the state from the Confederate rebellion, nearly two months after the war’s last major battle. Gen. Granger issued an order confirming the freedom promised in President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and denied them by the Confederate government.

Canisius’ Juneteenth celebration hopes to inspire conversation, action, and hope in our ongoing work toward anti-racism, diversity, and inclusion.

Members of the college community are also invited to attend activities held throughout the month. For more details on events and opportunities to volunteer for the city of Buffalo’s Juneteenth Celebration, please visit Juneteenth Buffalo.

Resources on African American history and celebrations of Juneteenth are available below:

1.      Juneteenth of Buffalo, Inc.

2.      On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed, New York Times-10 Best Books of 201

3.      1619 Project

4.      Nikole Hannah-Jones discusses 1619 Project

5.      PBS African Americans:  Many Rivers to Cross

6.      National Museum of African American History & Culture

Submitted by: Fatima Rodrigquez Johnson, associate dean, Diversity & Inclusion