The Georgia Tech campus will close on Wednesday, June 19, to commemorate Juneteenth.
Juneteenth, recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. While the 1863 signing of the Emancipation Proclamation freed all enslaved people across the country, it wasn’t until Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, on June 19, 1865, that slavery was formally abolished in the final Confederate-controlled state after the Civil War.
Beginning the following year, the day was celebrated among freed slaves in Texas as “Jubilee Day.” As formerly enslaved people moved throughout the country, the annual tradition took hold, eventually becoming known as Juneteenth.
With campus closed on Wednesday, Georgia Tech’s Juneteenth Celebration will take place Tuesday, June 18, at the Ferst Center for the Arts Plaza from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Maurice Hobson will deliver the event's keynote address, preceding an afternoon of entertainment, games, and food showcasing Black culture.
The event, open to all, will introduce the Black Culture, Innovation, and Technology department, dedicated to the intersection of culture and technology, fostering innovation, and recognizing the contributions of Black Americans.
On June 18, the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience Diversity and Inclusion Committee invites members of the IBB community to the annual Juneteenth Ice Cream Social in the atrium of the Petit Biotech Building.