Today we observe Juneteenth as a state and national holiday that celebrates and commemorates the day - June 19, 1865 - that Union General Goardon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announce that enslaved black people were free. In reflecting upon the importance of Juneteenth, we should consider the significance of that moment, which occurred more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and how it serves as a reminder that, while we have made progress, we have much more work to do.
On Juneteenth and every day, I hope that each of us will contemplate how we, both individually and as an institution, can continue to teach, research, advocate, and serve to create a more just world.