Marist Declares Juneteenth a College Holiday

President Dennis J. Murray declared Juneteenth a college holiday and announced the college would be closed on June 19 in observance. This announcement follows Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Order on Wednesday, making Juneteenth a holiday for state employees.  

“Juneteenth is a holiday in 46 states and the District of Columbia, and the African American community often celebrates it with family gatherings, barbecues, parades, festivals, and beauty contests,” Murray said. “This year, of course, most such public events are being curtailed because of the coronavirus, but that doesn’t diminish the day’s importance as a commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States.”  

Cuomo said he intends to declare Juneteenth an official state holiday next year, though the holiday’s earliest celebrations emerged over 150 years ago. More than two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, to announce the end of the Civil War. Texas also became the first state to declare Juneteenth a holiday in 1980. 

The recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and more, as well as nationwide protests of police brutality and racial injustice, renewed widespread interest in the occasion. 

“This day also provides us with an opportunity to reflect on this aspect of our history and how our country can more fully live up to its ideals,” Murray said. “ I’ll look forward to working with all of you to ensure that Marist is also fulfilling its ideal of creating a community in which everyone feels welcome, valued, and supported.” 

Source: Tara Guaimano