Administrators, faculty, staff and students gathered in the University Student Union’s Grand Salon on June 11 to commemorate Juneteenth, joining a CSU-wide observance honoring the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. The symposium, “Pathways to Progress: Legacy, Learning and Leadership,” originated from the Cal State Los Angeles campus and was livestreamed to the CSU system’s 22 other campuses, where community members participated through local watch parties.
CSUN’s watch party kicked off with a performance by the Jazz Club. William Watkins, vice-president for Student Affairs and dean of students, welcomed everyone, as did President Erika D. Beck. Beck took the opportunity to remember former CSUN President Blenda Wilson, who died earlier this month at the age of 85. Wilson was the first African American woman to lead a large U.S. university and was CSUN’s third president. She served from 1992 to 1999 and oversaw the reconstruction of the campus following the Northridge earthquake.
The broadcast opened with a video highlighting prominent African Americans within the CSU system, including faculty, staff and alumni members. CSU Los Angeles President Berenecea Johnson Eanes and CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia greeted all the attendees around the state from the CSULA campus. In her remarks, Garcia noted both the celebratory and solemn nature of the Juneteenth holiday.
“We rejoice in celebrating all that the Black and African American community has achieved and overcome, even as we acknowledge and mourn with our clear eyes and broken hearts, some of our nation’s most painful and shameful moments,” Garcia said.
The event’s keynote speaker was Marc H. Morial, the president and CEO of the National Urban League and the former Mayor of New Orleans. There was also a panel discussion, “Pathways to Progress,” highlighting the importance of mentorship and fostering representation of African Americans.
The event also featured a rendition of the Black National Anthem by the choir of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Pasadena. The commemoration closed with a drum performance by the Los Angeles-based cultural arts organization African Soul International.
June 19, 1865 is recognized as the date when freedom finally reached the last enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and a few months after the end of the Civil War. Juneteenth is also known as “Freedom Day” and “Emancipation Day” and has long been celebrated in African American communities around the country. It became a federal holiday in 2021.
