Dear UMPI Community,
On June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas to issue General Order No. 3, declaring that all enslaved people were free—delivering, at long last, the enforcement of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, issued more than two years earlier on January 1, 1863.
This moment marked one of the final acts of emancipation in the United States, arriving months after the end of the Civil War and nearly 250 years after the first enslaved Africans were brought to North America. Though freedom had been declared on paper, its delayed implementation in the most remote areas of the former Confederacy revealed just how deeply rooted the institution of slavery had been—and how far the nation still had to go.
Juneteenth, which we celebrate tomorrow on June 19—a blending of “June” and “nineteenth”—thus became a day of remembrance and celebration within Black communities, first in Texas and then across the country. For generations, Juneteenth has honored not only the freedom of those who had been enslaved but also the enduring struggle for dignity, equity, and full citizenship.
In 2011, Maine became the 38th state to officially recognize Juneteenth, thanks to legislation championed by former state Representative Denise Harlow. A decade later, on June 17, 2021, President Joseph Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday—a long-overdue national acknowledgment of a day that has lived in the hearts and histories of Black Americans for over 150 years.
But Juneteenth is more than a historical milestone. It is a living call to conscience—an invitation to examine the legacies of slavery and systemic racism that continue to shape our institutions and communities. It is a day not only of celebration but of commitment.
At the University of Maine at Presque Isle, we recognize that our aspirations toward equity, inclusion, and justice must be matched by daily action. We have made progress, but our work is far from complete. We must continue to ask hard questions, listen deeply, and act boldly—within our classrooms, across our campus, and in partnership with the broader communities we serve.
I encourage each of us to spend Juneteenth not only as a time of celebration and remembrance, but as a benchmark—a day to reflect on how far we have come and rededicate ourselves to the work that remains. And I hope it can help inspire us in our concerted commitment to ensure a future of liberation, equity, and shared dignity.
