Juneteenth Established as a Federal Holiday

NJIT Community Members,

Yesterday, President Biden signed legislation establishing June 19th as Juneteenth National Independence Day, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth is celebrated on this day because it was June 19, 1865, when Union Major General Gordon Granger announced the end of slavery in Galveston, Texas. In reflecting on the importance of Juneteenth, we should recognize the significance of this moment, which occurred more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. It should remind us that, while we have made much progress, we continue to have more work to do. 

I am pleased, today, to wish you all a happy Juneteenth, and to share that our university will include Juneteenth as a university holiday next year. We will work with our various collective bargaining units on how to observe this new holiday, and we to look forward to providing members of the university community with the opportunity to celebrate Juneteenth and what it symbolizes in the development of our nation.

We will continue to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in line with the initiatives articulated in our NJIT 2025 strategic plan. On Juneteenth and every day, I hope that we all will strive to teach, research, advocate, and serve in ways that create a more just world.

NJIT President Joel S. Bloom