Join Pacific University in Commemorating Juneteenth

Join Pacific University in commemorating Juneteenth!

The commemoration begins with a short ceremony at 2 p.m. Monday, June 13, at the flagpole at the intersection of College Way and 21st Avenue. Incoming President Jenny Coyle will offer a few remarks and light refreshments will be available as we raise the Juneteenth flag.

The red, white and blue banner with a bursting star in the middle is a symbolic representation of the end of slavery in the United States.

The flag will fly at Pacific for a week, through the official Juneteenth holiday on Sunday, June 19, and this year’s observation date of Monday, June 20. Pacific is closed on June 20 in acknowledgement of the holiday.

Juneteenth marks the date that the last enslaved people in America learned of their freedom on June 19, 1865, more than two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Long celebrated by African American communities, Juneteenth didn’t become a federal holiday until 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.

Pacific University first formally observed Juneteenth in 2020. We recognize that celebrating Juneteenth does not repair the damage that structural racism has done to people in this country, and it does not absolve any of us in our role in those structures. Change can only come from dismantling those systems in real time. We must listen, educate ourselves, and commit each and every day to actively abolishing racism, prejudice and microaggressions in our lives, land and institution.

Please consider taking a few minutes out of your day to join the flag raising ceremony and join us in supporting our collective efforts to acknowledge our pasts and to help make Pacific a better place!