Juneteenth Freedom Day

Join us monthly as we celebrate a different community on campus. UWL Celebration Months amplifies voices from the many vibrant cultures and communities on campus. Join us throughout the year as we celebrate our friends and neighbors and gain a deeper understanding of our community.

The purpose of this project is to give others on our campus, in the surrounding community, and anyone that visits the UWL website a chance to learn more about different experiences and perspectives of the community that we are celebrating on any given month.

Allies and advocates are invited to share their stories.

UWL Celebrates

Juneteenth Freedom Day

About Juneteenth Freedom Day

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which had become official January 1, 1863, had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. The day was recognized as a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. 
 
Source: https://juneteenthlaxwi.weebly.com/history.html