University Relations
June 26, 2008 Communique
Festival celebrates freedom, justice, diversity
The first Juneteenth Festival at UCCS, organized in partnership with the African-American Voice newspaper, was June 14 on the University Center upper plaza.
Food vendors, art shows, motorcycle and craft displays as well as voter registration tables highlighted the event.
Juneteenth, as celebrated across the nation, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, more than two and one half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation, General Granger arrived at Galveston, Texas with the news that the long war was over and that all slaves were free. The local Juneteenth celebration marks this historic event, and honors ongoing community efforts to advance equal rights in the areas of health, education, and financial self-reliance
