MSU Juneteenth Celebration
Attend the 4th annual MSU Juneteenth Commemorative Celebration on Friday, June 14, 2024, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at the Breslin Center. Doors open at 4:30 p.m.
This year's theme is Acknowledging the Journey: Freedom, Resilience, Empowerment and Liberation.
The commemoration features the multi-faceted musician and host Rodney Page, gospel music by Gregory D and Company, jazz music by the MSU College of Music, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" by Phoenix Miranda and more.
Event Details
Students, staff, faculty, alums and local community members are encouraged to register for the celebration. There are activities for all ages. This event will not be livestreamed.
Menu
Food will be provided by MSU's Kellogg Catering and local Black-owned business, Sweet Encounter.
Registration is encouraged to reserve a meal!
2024 MSU Juneteenth Commemorative Celebration
Acknowledging the Journey: Freedom, Resilience, Empowerment and Liberation
Friday, June 14, 2024, 5 p.m.
Breslin Center
Featuring
Emcee: Rodney Page
Lift Every Voice and Sing: Ms. Phoenix Miranda
Gospel music: Gregory D and Company
MSU College of Music: Jazz Quintet
Black Wall Street Vendor Fair
The Comet Afrofuturism Exhibit: Tim Fielder
About Juneteenth
On June 19, 1865, two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation orders were given to free the over 250,000 African American slaves in Texas who had not yet been informed of the decree. Juneteenth, short for June nineteenth, is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.
A century and a half later, Juneteenth is not taught in schools or widely known. MSU recognizes the importance of celebrating the full history of the U.S. so that everyone receives the recognition they deserve as builders of a great nation.
How to Participate
- Become a sponsor: The Juneteenth Planning Committee values its partnerships with community members. This program is a great opportunity to sustain our community engagement. A suggested donation of $1,000 is greatly appreciated and all sponsors will be listed on our website and at our events. Funds collected will go to help support the celebration. Fill out the sponsor form or download the sponsor letter.
- Enter the poster design contest: Calling All MSU Students! You are invited to participate in the first annual poster design contest to demonstrate your talent by submitting art that represents your original interpretation of this year's theme, Acknowledging the Journey: Freedom, Resilience, Empowerment and Liberation. The contest winner will receive $500, recognition at the program and event with artwork displayed on the large screens on the floor of the Breslin Center and distributed as glossy print posters to attendees. Download the contest rules PDF and submit artwork by May 17.
- Sign up for the Black Wall Street Vendor Fair: The Juneteenth Planning Committee invites local entrepreneurs to apply for vendor space. Complete the vendor application form.
- Volunteer: The committee is looking for volunteers for the day to help with set-up, check-in, traffic direction, take-down and other activities. Sign up to volunteer
Wiki
Juneteenth - On June 19, 1865, two-and-a-half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and a couple of months after the end of the Civil War, newly posted Major General Gordon Granger issued orders to free the over 250,000 African American slaves in Galveston, Texas, who had not yet been informed of the new law. Juneteenth is considered the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of the enslavement of African Americans and Black people in the United States.
Although, Juneteenth has been celebrated since the late 1800s, it was not federally recognized as a national holiday until June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed a bill officially designating June 19 as a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in America.
Afrofuturism - The cultural aesthetic, philosophy and movement that explores the intersection of the African/Black diaspora with the alternative visions and imaginations of Black liberation.
African/Black diaspora - The descendants and global community of Black West and Central Africans who were enslaved and shipped to the Americas via the Atlantic slave trade between the 16th and 19th centuries.
Black National Anthem - 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' (poetry and lyrics) by James Weldon Johnson
Black Wall Street - Also known as the Greenwood neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where in the early 20th century African Americans created a self-sufficient prosperous business district that was destroyed in 1921 due to racial violence.
Green Book -The Green Book was a travel guidebook specifically designed for African American travelers during the era of racial segregation in the United States. View the MSU Green Book.
Harlem Renaissance - The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s.
Idlewild - Idlewild, or the "Black Eden of Michigan," was one of the few resorts in the country where African Americans could safely vacation from 1912 through the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Freedom - the power or right to act, speak or think as one wants without restraint.
Liberation - securing equitable, social, economic and judicial rights.