Building Understanding and Deepening our Commitment to Justice on Juneteenth

Dear Members of the Carnegie Mellon University Community:

Each year, the CMU community comes together around Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19, to reflect, learn and grow. Juneteenth marks the end of chattel slavery in the United States in 1865, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. The delayed realization of emancipation for so many is a painful reminder of how the promise of freedom has too often been denied for Black Americans throughout our nation's history. By building understanding around these significant historic events and their enduring impacts, we deepen our commitment to our ongoing work of creating a more just society for all.

The Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer is pleased to invite you to participate in annual events that give us the chance to come together in community.

Third Annual Juneteenth Welcome Reception with Sankofa Employee Resource Group
Monday, June 17, 4:30-6 p.m.
We are excited to once again partner with Sankofa, CMU’s Black Faculty and Staff Alliance Employee Resource Group, to kick off this time of remembrance and celebration and to reinvigorate the power of our communal voice for freedom that is informed by the lessons of our past. Allies, supporters and friends are welcome to gather, build relationships and come together in celebration of Juneteenth. Register to attend.

2024 Juneteenth Keynote Lecture with Dr. Edda Fields-Black: “Fighting for Freedom: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and the Civil War”
Tuesday, June 18, 12-1:30 p.m.
Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black is an associate professor of history in CMU’s Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences and a specialist in the transnational histories of West African rice farmers, the African diaspora and enslaved laborers on Lowcountry rice plantations. Her Juneteenth lecture will explore how Harriett Tubman, the intelligence she gathered, and her ring of spies, scouts and pilots played a central role in the Combahee River Raid, one of the most dramatic episodes of the Civil War and the largest and most successful slave rebellion in U.S. history. Register to attend.

By confronting our nation’s history and uplifting historically marginalized voices, together we are furthering the critical work of fostering a more equitable and inclusive future for all. I invite you to take part in ways most meaningful to you this month to explore the enduring legacy of Juneteenth.

Sincerely,

Wanda Heading-Grant
Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer
Distinguished Service Professor, Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy