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MSU Juneteenth Celebration

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This year marks the 5th Annual Juneteenth Commemorative Celebration at Michigan State University! This year’s theme, A Juneteenth Renaissance: Bridging Freedom's Legacy and Tomorrow's Vision, aims to celebrate and recognize the contributions of past and contemporary artists, scientists, and advocates who work tirelessly to center Black excellence in the American fabric. The Juneteenth events at MSU will consist of an educational component and a celebration for all in the greater Lansing and mid-Michigan areas.

About Juneteenth 

On June 19, 1865, enslaved African Americans in Texas were told they were free, two years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on Jan. 1, 1863. A century and a half later, Juneteenth is now a federal holiday, but it’s not taught in schools or widely known. Michigan State University hosts Juneteenth as an annual celebration that recognizes the diverse contributions of African Americans to the United States. 

Event Details 

The event will take place Thursday, June 12, 2025, from 5-8:30 p.m. (doors open at 4:30 p.m.) at the Multicultural Center. For more information on the Multicultural Center, visit mccenter.msu.edu. Additional details will be shared as we approach the event date. 

How to Participate 

Become a sponsor:  
  • Visionary Sponsor – $1,000 includes name on website. 
  • Legacy Sponsor – $1,500 includes name on website and Juneteenth educational program. 
  • Freedom Sponsor – $2,000 includes names on the website and the Juneteenth celebration. 

Please complete the sponsorship form. You may copy and paste this link on your browser to access the form: https://msu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3kHej6sYXaXS8PI.

Black Wall Street Vendor Fair 

The Juneteenth Planning Committee invites local businesses to apply for vendor space. Complete the vendor application form.

Community Events 

Details on community events are forthcoming. You may also visit the links below for the latest information.

Wiki

Juneteenth - On June 19, 1865, two-and-a-half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and a couple of months after the end of the Civil War, newly posted Major General Gordon Granger issued orders to free the over 250,000 African American slaves in Galveston, Texas, who had not yet been informed of the new law. Juneteenth is considered the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of the enslavement of African Americans and Black people in the United States. 

Although, Juneteenth has been celebrated since the late 1800s, it was not federally recognized as a national holiday until June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed a bill officially designating June 19 as a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in America. 

Afrofuturism - The cultural aesthetic, philosophy and movement that explores the intersection of the African/Black diaspora with the alternative visions and imaginations of Black liberation. 

African/Black diaspora - The descendants and global community of Black West and Central Africans who were enslaved and shipped to the Americas via the Atlantic slave trade between the 16th and 19th centuries. 

Black National Anthem - 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' (poetry and lyrics) by James Weldon Johnson 

Black Wall Street - Also known as the Greenwood neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where in the early 20th century African Americans created a self-sufficient prosperous business district that was destroyed in 1921 due to racial violence. 

Green Book -The Green Book was a travel guidebook specifically designed for African American travelers during the era of racial segregation in the United States. View the MSU Green Book. 

Harlem Renaissance - The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. 

Idlewild - Idlewild, or the "Black Eden of Michigan," was one of the few resorts in the country where African Americans could safely vacation from 1912 through the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  

Freedom - the power or right to act, speak or think as one wants without restraint. 

Liberation - securing equitable, social, economic and judicial rights. 

Sponsors 

We thank our many sponsors for contributing funds to support the MSU Juneteenth Celebration:

Planning Committee Members

  • Yolanda Anderson, Ph.D., College of Engineering 
  • Terence Brown, Office of Admissions  
  • Julian Chambliss, Ph.D, College of Arts and Letters  
  • Melissa Del Rio, Graduate School 
  • Darren (Dee) Dubose, College of Education 
  • Amanda Flores, Ph.D., College of Education 
  • Amir Franklin, College of Social Science 
  • Lauren Gaines, Ph.D., College of Communication Arts and Sciences 
  • Christina Myers, Ph.D., College of Communication Arts and Sciences 
  • Ted Ransaw, Ph.D., College of Education 
  • Ashlee Smith, WKAR Public Media 
  • Cece Sumpter, MSU Athletics 
  • Marquis Taylor, Broad College of Business 
  • Antonio White, College of Natural Science 
  • Scot Wright, Broad College of Business
  • Jaela Young, Center for Community Engaged Learning

Support Staff

  • Evette Chavez, Fiscal and Human Resources Officer, Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion
  • Brady Velazquez, Equity and Compliance Coordinator, Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion
  • Lisa Fuentes, Staff Assistant, Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion
  • Henry Mochida, Diversity and Inclusion Communications Manager II, Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion and University Communications
  • Leah Ball, Communications Manager II, Office of the Provost

juneteenth-block.jpgCommunications

  • A promotional kit with materials will be made available at a later date.
  • Communications contact: mochidah@msu.edu

Juneteenth