Faculty, staff, and students are invited to celebrate and pick up informational material on Juneteenth at a gathering that will also feature local food vendors.

The celebration, hosted by Senior Vice President and Senior Diversity Officer Shontay Delalue, starts at noon on Monday, June 19, at 3 Clement Road in Hanover.

With a valid Dartmouth ID, free tickets for food vendors will be available at the event on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged.

June 19, 1865, known as Juneteenth, was the day—two years after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863—that enslaved people of African descent who lived in Galveston, Texas, learned from Union troops that slavery had been abolished. For generations, Black communities across the country have observed Juneteenth, and in 2021 President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, officially designating the day as a federal holiday.

“Due to our academic quarter system and the timing of our summer session, Juneteenth is not a holiday at Dartmouth, but this should not prevent us from educating ourselves about the significance of this date and commemorating it through a community gathering,” Delalue says. “I hope this becomes an annual event on campus.”

Registration is open. For more information, contact Institutional Diversity and Equity at ide.events@dartmouth.edu.