Skip to main content

Enter a Search Term

Rutgers Logo
  • New Brunswick
  • Newark
  • Camden
  • RBHS/Health
  • Apply
    • Prospective Students and Parents
    • Current Students
    • Faculty and Staff
    • Alumni and Donors
    • Partners
    • Job Seekers
    • Rutgers Today
    • Rutgers Magazine
    • Events
  • Giving
Rutgers Logo
  • About Rutgers
    • About the University
    • President Jonathan Holloway
    • Serving New Jersey and the World
      • An Economic Engine
      • A Partner in Research and Innovation
    • Great Things
    • Rutgers Excellence
    • Rutgers, By the Numbers
      • Rutgers Rankings
      • Budget Facts
    • Our Structure
      • Governance and Leadership
      • Office of the President
      • Administrative Council
    • Our Revolutionary Roots
      • Rutgers Traditional Songs
  • The Rutgers Experience
    • Discover Rutgers
    • Rutgers–New Brunswick
    • Rutgers–Newark
    • Rutgers–Camden
    • Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS)
    • Show Your Rutgers Pride
    • Rutgers Athletics
    • Uniquely New Jersey
  • Academics
    • Academics Overview
    • Undergraduate Academics
      • Explore Undergraduate Programs
    • Graduate and Professional Studies
      • Explore Graduate Medical Education Programs
      • Explore Graduate and Professional Programs
      • Top Graduate Programs
    • Schools and Colleges
    • Continuing Education
    • Online Degree Programs
    • Catalogs
    • Libraries
    • Faculty Excellence
    • Global Learning
    • Rutgers at Your Community College
    • Student Support
  • Research
    • Research at Rutgers
    • A Partner in Research and Innovation
  • Health & Patient Care
    • Advancing Treatment and Wellness
  • Admissions & Tuition
    • About Applying
    • Path to Rutgers
    • Tuition and Financial Aid
    • Visits and Tours
      • Getting Here
  • About Rutgers
    • About the University
    • President Jonathan Holloway
    • Serving New Jersey and the World
      • An Economic Engine
      • A Partner in Research and Innovation
    • Great Things
    • Rutgers Excellence
    • Rutgers, By the Numbers
      • Rutgers Rankings
      • Budget Facts
    • Our Structure
      • Governance and Leadership
      • Office of the President
      • Administrative Council
    • Our Revolutionary Roots
      • Rutgers Traditional Songs
  • The Rutgers Experience
    • Discover Rutgers
    • Rutgers–New Brunswick
    • Rutgers–Newark
    • Rutgers–Camden
    • Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS)
    • Show Your Rutgers Pride
    • Rutgers Athletics
    • Uniquely New Jersey
  • Academics
    • Academics Overview
    • Undergraduate Academics
      • Explore Undergraduate Programs
    • Graduate and Professional Studies
      • Explore Graduate Medical Education Programs
      • Explore Graduate and Professional Programs
      • Top Graduate Programs
    • Schools and Colleges
    • Continuing Education
    • Online Degree Programs
    • Catalogs
    • Libraries
    • Faculty Excellence
    • Global Learning
    • Rutgers at Your Community College
    • Student Support
  • Research
    • Research at Rutgers
    • A Partner in Research and Innovation
  • Health & Patient Care
  • Admissions & Tuition
    • About Applying
    • Path to Rutgers
    • Tuition and Financial Aid
    • Visits and Tours
      • Getting Here

Utility Mobile

  • Apply
    • Prospective Students and Parents
    • Current Students
    • Faculty and Staff
    • Alumni and Donors
    • Partners
    • Job Seekers
    • Rutgers Today
    • Rutgers Magazine
    • Events
  • Giving
  • New Brunswick
  • Newark
  • Camden
  • RBHS/Health

Office of the President

  • President Holloway
  • About the President
    • Downloadable Photos
  • Publications
  • Academic Freedom/Free Speech
  • Communications
    • Messages to the Rutgers Community
    • Op-eds, Presentations, and Speeches
    • Selected News Coverage and Articles
  • Inauguration
    • Presidential Medallion
    • Scarlet and Black: Today's Gift
    • Core Planning Committee
    • Excellence Events
  • Initiatives
  • Leadership Team
  • Contact Information

Marking Juneteenth

June 16, 2022

Members of the Rutgers Community:

Tomorrow, June 17, Rutgers will begin an annual practice of observing Juneteenth as a university holiday on the third Friday of June, which is also the observance of the state holiday.

Juneteenth, which is also known as Emancipation Day, marks the arrival of federal troops in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to announce that all enslaved people in that state—more than 250,000 at the time—were declared free. This was two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued, two months after the Civil War ended, and six months before ratification of the 13th Amendment officially ended slavery. Annual celebrations of this moment began the following year in Texas and soon spread among African Americans in other states. Texas declared Juneteenth a state holiday in 1980, and the federal government (and New Jersey) declared it a holiday last year.

I encourage you to read the Rutgers Today essays about the value of celebrating this day and thereby raising awareness of its significance in the history of our nation. As I wrote in my own essay, recognizing Juneteenth is “a somber act of remembrance; a declaration that this country should continue the hard work of becoming the beacon of liberty and righteous independence that it claims to be.” We at Rutgers join the state and federal governments in marking Juneteenth—and I hope it will be an occasion to reflect on the need to continue that hard work.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Holloway
President and University Professor

Site Footer

Rutgers University
  • New Brunswick
  • Newark
  • Camden
  • RBHS/Health

Connect

  • Campus Safety
  • Contact Us
  • Continuing Education
  • Giving to Rutgers
  • Graduate Admissions
  • Undergraduate Admissions
  • University Maps
  • Universitywide Offices
  • Work at Rutgers
  • Find a Health Care Provider
  • Rutgers Magazine
  • University Events

Academic

  • Academic Calendars
  • Course Catalogs
  • University Libraries
  • myRutgers Portal

Notices

  • COVID-19 Information
  • Commencement Information
  • University Operating Status
  • Accessibility Resources
  • Budget Facts
  • Consumer Information
  • Disclosures

Follow Us

Subscribe to Rutgers News

Rutgers is an equal access/equal opportunity institution. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to direct suggestions, comments, or complaints concerning any accessibility issues with Rutgers websites to accessibility@rutgers.edu or complete the Report Accessibility Barrier / Provide Feedback form.

Copyright ©2023, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. All rights reserved. Contact webmaster