University of Michigan Juneteenth Symposium

The University of Michigan and its partner, the Ann Arbor Branch of the NAACP, will host the university’s 2nd annual Juneteenth Symposium. The 2022 theme is "Celebrate, Educate, Inspire."

Juneteenth marks the end of slavery in the United States when enslaved Africans in Galveston, Texas learned of their freedom on June 19, 1865, two and a half years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. 

The University of Michigan's Juneteenth events bring together the U-M campus and Ann Arbor communities to underscore the importance of Juneteenth and to ensure that all students, staff, faculty, and residents feel a deep sense of belonging. Events running from June 15-18 feature two keynote addresses: Ms. Opal Lee, “the Grandmother of Juneteenth,” and Minnijean Brown Trickey, a member of the Little Rock Nine. Guest speakers will be joined by top scholars to discuss issues including health equity and mental wellness in the Black community, Critical Race Theory, and the importance of African American institutions such as the church, fraternities, and sororities.

The symposium activities also include longstanding celebratory traditions of Juneteenth, culminating with a music festival at the Michigan Union on the evening of June 17, and a march and festival at Wheeler Park hosted by the Ann Arbor NAACP on June 18.

For more information, including the full schedule, speaker details, and session descriptions, visit juneteenth.umich.edu.

All events are free and open to the public, with options to participate in-person or online. 

• slavery
• anti-racism
• Juneteenth
• NAACP
• racial justice