Maverick community celebrates Juneteenth
The Maverick community came together for the annual Juneteenth Celebration in commemoration of Juneteenth, or “Freedom Day.”
Sophomore Tylar Brown has been celebrating the holiday in Arlington since he was a kid.
“We would always go to the park and come together like this and just have a good time,” he said.
As a mentor for the Center for African American Studies (CAAS), Brown is involved with bringing freshmen to events like the Juneteenth Celebration to learn their history and connect with others.
“To me, Juneteenth means everybody coming together as a community. It’s really important to me and it’s what I try to do at CAAS—bring around the people I mentor and get them involved,” said Brown.
Juneteenth, a combination of "June" and "nineteenth," has been a day of celebration for more than 150 years. It commemorates June 19, 1865, when news of the federal order ending slavery in the United States reached enslaved people in Galveston, Texas. This was more than two months after the end of the Civil War and more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in January 1863.
Shunda Dixon, vice chair for the Staff Advisory Council, has also long celebrated Juneteenth. Her favorite part is getting her family together and keeping traditions alive.
“As a native Texan, we’ve always celebrated Juneteenth. I always thought it was a national holiday, then when I moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1999 I realized it wasn’t,” said Dixon. “One time I mentioned Juneteenth and nobody knew what I was talking about, so it was an opportunity for me to educate people on this holiday.”
Juneteenth was officially recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, thanks in part to the advocacy of activist Opal Lee, a Tarrant County resident. Dixon said Lee has taught her to fight for what she believes in and to never let anyone take away her history.
Adji Sall, Women of Gold president and Black Student Association programs chair, didn’t understand Juneteenth’s importance until she was at UTA.
She brought her two children to the campus celebration so they could learn about the day’s history and be around people who appreciate its significance.
“I brought my kids so they could learn something. All they know is that it’s a holiday, but they don’t really understand the meaning behind the holidays,” said Sall. “I appreciate how much the importance of this holiday has been pushed and it’s a chance for us all to learn.”