Reflections on Juneteenth | University of Maryland

June 14, 2021

Juneteenth, June 19, 2021 with red, black, green and gold geometric background

In 2020, the University of Maryland granted employees administrative leave to observe Juneteenth. This day of celebration and reflection commemorates the end of slavery in the United States—two and a half years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. This year, University System of Maryland Chancellor Jay A. Perman designated Juneteenth as a holiday across all USM institutions (holiday given on June 18).

In his announcement to the university community, UMD President Pines said: “Let's use this time to reflect on both our history and recent events, and how we continue to work to eradicate anti-Black racism—and racism in all its forms—together.”

As a community of public health students, researchers and professionals, we must hold ourselves and each other accountable for systemic racism and the role of racism in public health. We know that stark inequalities between the health status of Black and Brown Americans and that of White Americans exist not because of race but because of racism.

The SPH communications office invited our faculty, staff and students to reflect on what it means to them, and to share some recommended resources to celebrate or learn more about Black history and culture, as well as tools for understanding and taking action to address systemic racism.

Here are some of the submissions:

Poem for Juneteenth (submitted by an anonymous SPH faculty member)

On Juneteenth we rightfully celebrate,
But cannot ignore the ongoing spate of hate.
The legacy of slavery lives on and it is not fate!
When will we fully celebrate freedom for all,
How many more black and brown bodies must fall…?
On this day we must commit, again, to actions that are anti-racist.
That will be the basis,
For future celebrations.
When anti-racism, equity and inclusion are truly assured,
For one and for all!
To my colleagues and students in SPH,
Your bravery, authenticity, advocacy and activism will propel this nation,
And inspire a new generation!

Juneteenth is a day that all Americans should recognize. It represents an end to the ugliest, racist, and deadliest chapter in the country and quite frankly in the world. Juneteenth matters to my work because even though this holiday commemorates the end of the brutal enslavement of Black Americans, racism and the dehumanization of Black bodies was just repackaged and continues to reverberate throughout every aspect of our lives. My work reveals the health impacts of this repackaging in the most unapologetic and uncensored way.

- Jennifer D. Roberts, Associate Professor, Kinesiology

Juneteenth matters because it is a time for all to honor and embrace Black culture through its art and history. As a researcher, Juneteenth is a reminder to continually honor, celebrate, and recognize research participants who are Black. I acknowledge Black people’s historical exclusion from research studies, recognize the lack of investigators who look like me and the research participants and express the value of Black participants in research. June 19, 1865, matters. It is the day all people living in the United States, including the formerly enslaved, were officially granted freedom. Freedom that includes the continual fight for receipt of federal funds to conduct research that impacts Black people. Freedom to get research papers published in “top tier journals.” Freedom to demand more faculty of color are hired, promoted, and tenured. Freedom to stop excluding me from a seat at the proverbial table. Freedom!

- James Butler, III, Associate Professor, Behavioral and Community Health

Juneteenth informs my work because it informs the way I see myself in specific spaces. It informs my work because the work I do is specific to structural racism and discriminatory practices that are the fabric of what this country stands for....and those structural inequalities result in disparate rates of dis-ease for Black people who aren't at higher risk for any other reason than the fact that they are Black. And being Black means you aren't afforded the same opportunities as others. Intersectionality…

- Typhanye Dyer, Associate Professor, Epidemiology and Biostatistics

The historical relationship between Black populations (populations of the African Diaspora) and the U.S.A. is rooted in servitude primarily through enslavement. As a result, racism in all of its forms, is a critically important determinant of health for Black people globally. As a health inequities scholar and advocate, my work is directly connected to the scientific endeavor of identifying factors that shape the lived experience of Black youth and young adult communities and through community-engagement, to develop interventions to address their health and well-being. As such, Juneteenth (the end of slavery) matters as a significant historical turning point in our culture and through my work reveals and reminds us of how far we still have to go to fully achieve health equity.

- Craig Fryer, Associate Professor and incoming Chair, Behavioral and Community Health

Here are some recommended resources submitted by the SPH community. If you have others to share, please share on our social media channels or email us at sph-comm@umd.edu.

To Watch

The Underground Railroad (miniseries):
A historical drama streaming television limited series created and directed by Barry Jenkins based on the novel of the same name by Colson Whitehead.
How it Feels to be Free:
PBS documentary featuring the inspiring stories of six iconic African American female entertainers – Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier – and how they challenged an entertainment industry deeply complicit in perpetuating racist stereotypes and transformed themselves and their audiences in the process.
The Black Church:
The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song, is a moving four-hour, two-part series from executive producer, host and writer Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor at Harvard University and director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, that traces the 400-year-old story of the Black church in America
The Uncomfortable Truth - Amazon:
A comprehensive and insightful exploration of the origins and history of racism in America told through a very personal and honest story.
Moving From ‘Woke’ To Working For Black Futures | Della Mosley | TEDxUF:
Dr. Della V. Mosley answers the question, "How do we turn our chants of 'Black Lives Matter' into a reality?" by showing us how we can move past being “woke” and towards actively fighting for Black survival, wellness, and ultimately, liberation.