The University of Texas at Arlington hosted its annual Juneteenth celebration with the School of Social Work and several other campus programs co-sponsoring.
Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the U.S. and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. The day of Juneteenth dates to 1865 when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people were actually freed.
It's always important to celebrate Juneteenth,” said Director of the UTA Center for African American Studies, Dr. Jason Shelton. “It’s important that we recognize how far we have come as Black people in the state of Texas, understand our roots in slavery, understand that on the flip side of that we’ve come a long way but there’s still a long way to go.”
Juneteenth officially became a federal holiday June 17, 2021.
The UTA celebration was held June 14 at Brazos Park.