A three-lecture series on Juneteenth will examine the past, present and future state of racial and social justice. Crystal Bradley, vice president of the , coordinated the series. UofL News caught up with Bradley to discuss Juneteenth and its continuing impact.

UofL News: How do you feel like our collective understanding of Juneteenth has evolved the past few years?

Bradley: There has been more awareness for everyone about the significance of Juneteenth, not just an awareness but a kind of freedom to celebrate the event as part of history. Juneteenth is not just Black history but it’s American history. It should be a positive thing and something that unifies us, not divides us. We can celebrate the idea of such an oppressive system of slavery being dismantled. You can imagine the enslaved getting this message that you don’t have to live this way anymore. That’s what we celebrate with Juneteenth, this message that you’re finally free from this oppressive system.

UofL News: What do you think is the most important thing that needs to be communicated about Juneteenth?

Bradley: Accuracy. Having a correct insight on history and the significance of it. It is not a divisive or taboo subject, and while it’s not pretty, it is American history and it’s our history to be embraced and shared by all. Information should be shared with everyone, so I think that’s the most critical part.

UofL News: How did the thematic concept of past, present and future – the idea of where we’ve been, where we are, where we’re going – how does that play into the struggle for racial equality?

Bradley: The Juneteenth event planning committee was deciding how to frame it, and we thought with everything going on this year, there are some people who want to rewrite history, and some just want to bury it altogether. With this theme of past, present, future, it’s kind of hitting the pause button on all of the noise to say, hey, let’s have an open, intelligent discussion with scholars and people who know about this subject matter. Let’s look back where we were as a community and talk about how the decisions made back then affected us, and how what we do now is going to affect us 20, 30, 40 years from now. We don’t want to stay stuck, so we need to have a vision to look forward. Our goal with this theme was to reflect, to pause and look at where we are and then to envision where we want to be in the future.

UofL News: Can you tell us a little bit about each speaker of the series?

Bradley: Monday, June 17th, Metro District 4 Councilman Jecorey Arthur is going to speak to our present component. One reason we chose him is because it is the 60^th anniversary of “freedom summer,” where in 1964, there was a big push to increase Black voter registration. That was in alignment with looking at how decisions we made back then plays into where we are now and the importance of voting, and how that plays into where and how we move forward as a society.��

On Tuesday, June 18, John Mays, former director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) for Yum Brands, also known as the “I believe I can – man,” is going to address the future aspect. He’s a dynamic coach, author, entrepreneur and DEI motivational speaker. He brings a lot of energy, and he’s going to speak to that vision that we can have for ourselves as African Americans and as Americans collectively.

June 19^th is the official holiday, so on Thursday, June 20, the Coalition on the History of the Enslaved, which is a partnership and a collective of four diverse groups here in Louisville, will close out our speaker series. These are scholars who have deep knowledge of all the historical facts and points and sites within Louisville and surrounding areas such as the Oxmoor farm. They will speak about the impacts of the past, and tie back to how it affects us now and going forward. There’s been a lot of talk of slavery and what it is and what it isn’t, but I guarantee after listening to this group�� we’ll all walk away knowing more than we did before.

UofL News: Where do you see positive/ negative movement in addressing racial justice issues?

Bradley: Positive movement is that people are feeling more empowered to take up that fight, because it is a fight when you are going against forces and groups that feel like a zero-sum game. If you have, that means I can’t have, when we can actually all have. It’s a long, tiring fight, but I am encouraged that people – Black, white, Latinx – are all willing to say no, we’re going to push back on this agenda. No, we are not going to accept that.

We’re going to continue to fight, and when they change the rules of the game, which they do, then we’ll adjust and adapt but we’ll continue to push equity and inclusion forward because it’s important.

What is negative is that for every step made to increase equitable solutions, the powers-that-be are there to knock you ten steps back. Now they’re passing legislation and controlling what goes on in the classroom and changing the narrative. They’re in powerful positions that can affect that kind of change. So that’s really discouraging, but we wouldn’t have come this far as a society, as a community, as a collective, had we just accepted other people’s agendas years ago.

Learn more about the .

Strayhorn is a professor of education and psychology, director of the Center for the Study of HBCUs and principal investigator of��The Belonging Lab��at Virginia Union University. He also serves as Diversity Scholar-in-Residence at Harrisburg Area Community College. As president and CEO of , a minority-owned business, Strayhorn partners with hundreds of colleges, universities, corporations and agencies each year to enhance culture, build inclusive environments and boost belonging.

UofL News caught up with Strayhorn to talk about his work, along with his thoughts around Juneteenth, the day commemorating��the delayed emancipation of enslaved people in the United States on June 19, 1865.

UofL News:��How has our understanding of Juneteenth shifted the past few years?

Strayhorn: The recognition of Juneteenth as a federal holiday is important because we give time to those things that matter. It creates a collective pause to think and reflect, certainly acknowledging the progress we’ve made as well as raise up some of the continuing challenges that we face so that we can together envision a future that’s brighter and more equal and more just. It commemorates our freedom and our ever-evolving quest toward racial justice in this country.

UofL News: It’s been said Juneteenth hopes to inspire change through vision, voice and vote. How do you see activism and engagement bringing change?

Strayhorn: We know that we have some social miseries and nightmares that disproportionately impact communities of color. Right now, with, anti-LGBTQI+ policies, state sponsored violence against Black and Brown communities, police brutality, shameful public killings of African American men and women and trans people, and people who live at the intersection of all these identities, we need to create more change. Juneteenth provides an opportunity to reflect on our progress, being honest about our current status, and then finding appropriate, effective but nonviolent ways to champion the cause of racial justice.

UofL News: In our society today, where do you see a welcome and positive intersection of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging?

Strayhorn: We need more of what we know works well in fostering conditions for racial justice, for collective healing, for sense of belonging. That inclusive environment happens at culturally diverse institutions like Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Black museums and cultural centers, and Black churches, places which have for a long time been safe havens. This is not just for Black students, but for disenfranchised white students, for first generation students, for low-income students, for international students.

In 2020, during Black Lives Matter, when the world was on fire, the people with water to help tame the flame weren’t court appointed, certified firefighters. It was the people who had fire in their belly and could speak passionately about George Floyd’s killing. It was the millennial, the Gen-Zer, who could take the mic at the rally and help us realize, wow, the future is looking pretty bright because we have some people who are reaching across the aisle and across racial divides and saying, ‘Not on my watch.’

UofL News: How can universities and students at universities best exhibit leadership in commemorating Juneteenth?

Strayhorn: What we need to bring these lessons to life are committed, courageous, socially conscious faculty, students and leaders who can champion a cause and create change.

Everybody wants to belong and it’s what we share in common because we’re human. The message of Eric Garner, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many others is this implication that some people don’t belong here, and that some people’s lives don’t matter. I am profoundly committed on a personal, professional and even a spiritual and metaphysical level to fight that message and to say that we all belong here.

We’re all worthy. We are enough and never too much, but we only get there if we get there together.

Learn more and register for one of the ��sponsored by the Office of the President, Office of Institutional Equity, College of Business and the Black Faculty and Staff Association (BFSA). Learn more on the .��

“This particular day reflects the values that society shares – that all humans are born free and equal in dignity and rights. We all have the potential to contribute constructively to the development and well-being of our societies,” said Lee Gill, vice president, Office of Diversity and Equity.

Growing in understanding about diverse perspectives, members of the UofL and local community will have an opportunity to view the film, and participate in a campus conversation with , daughter of civil rights activists Medgar and Myrlie Evers-Williams.

As a young girl, Evers-Everette moved from Bayou to Jackson, Mississippi, as her father’s work expanded in the fight for equality. Then, at age 8, Evers-Everette witnessed her father’s assassination in front of their family home. Picking up the pieces of their life, her mother relocated the family to California. Evers-Everette went on to graduate from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology with a degree in business merchandising. Following a successful career in communications for domestic and international businesses, she returned to Mississippi in 2012 to continue her father’s labor and legacy at the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute.

As the institute’s executive director, Evers-Everette has lectured on the subjects of youth awareness and involvement, consulted with organizations on training youth activists and coordinated with the U.S. Department of the Interior on establishing the Medgar and Myrlie Evers House as a National Monument. Inspired by her father’s courageous leadership and integrity, she works to advance the mission of cultivating positive social change, intergenerational civic engagement, social and economic justice and research on equity and social justice.

“As part of our year-long celebration of the significance of Juneteenth, and to educate the campus and general community about the impact slavery had and continues to have on the United States and the rest of the world, UofL is planning a year-long series that will culminate in the University of Louisville’s Juneteenth 2023 festivities,” Gill said.

UofL is working with Ambassador Attallah Shabazz, daughter of the late Malcolm X, to host the events. While most will focus on Black/African American descendants of enslaved persons, the series also will examine the histories of other peoples that have faced challenges in their quest to (re)gain freedom in other countries, as well as in the United States.��

Learn more about the upcoming .

United around this year’s theme of ‘Power and Policy’, organizers hope to inspire change through vision, voice and vote.

“Juneteenth is a prime example of how policy change can shift power from the oppressor to the oppressed,” said Riece Hamilton, president of the UofL Black Faculty/Staff Association. “We want the campus and community to recognize the force we have when we collectively come together for the good of all. We understand that fighting against injustice for any group of people benefits all groups of people.”

The week of events leading up to Juneteenth will kick-off with a lecture by author, activist, educator and historian who will deliver the keynote titled, “Free at Last?”

As chairperson of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, Berry led the charge for equal rights and liberties of all Americans during four U.S. presidential administrations. She also served as assistant secretary for education in the U.S. Department of Health, ����ֱ�� and Welfare.

Berry is a founder of the monumental Free South Africa Movement (FSAM), and received the Nelson Mandela award from the South African Government for her role in organizing the FSAM, raising global awareness of South African injustice that helped to end over 40 years of apartheid.

A trailblazer for women and African Americans, she became the first woman to lead a major research university as chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder. She now teaches the history of American law and social policy as the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought at the University of Pennsylvania.

Visit the����to learn more and register for the following events:

Keynote: Mary Frances Berry
June 13, noon;
*streaming available

A panel discussion focused on Juneteenth, cash bail, and racial justice work.
June 14, noon;
*streaming available

Celebratory luncheon and Black business owners vendor fair
June 16, 11:30 a.m.; near��

A tour around campus designed to highlight historical points around UofL relative to Blacks/African Americans
June 17, noon;

Step into the narrative and take a journey through the African American experience; free admission.
June 18, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.;

at Burnett Avenue Church
Join us for a virtual worship service to give thanks for how far we have come and the blessings in store for the future.
June 19, 11 a.m.; virtual event��

At the Crossroads: A History of Black Health in Louisville
This exhibit explores the establishment of health care facilities by and for Black Louisvillians in the late 19th and 20th centuries.
On display now; Ekstrom Library

The Black Faculty/Staff Association along with the Commission on Diversity and Racial Equity (CODRE), Commonwealth Credit Union, Cultural Center, Office of Community Engagement, Office of Diversity and Equity, Office of the President, UofL Standing Up for Racial Justice (UofL SURJ) and various university sponsors are presenters of the second annual Juneteenth week of ‘Power and Policy’.

“This week should be a reminder that the people hold the power now and forever; it is what we do with it that matters,” Hamilton said.

Bendapudi informed senators that effective July 1, retirement contributions will be restored to their pre-COVID levels, 7.5%. She further reported that a 1% increase to base pay is pending approval by the Board of Trustees. If approved in the upcoming July board meeting, the 1% increase will go into effect on August 1.

“Every year, everyone who works here should have some increase to keep up with cost-of-living adjustments. Something to show we believe in you and we’re investing along with you,” Benadpudi said.��

Unit elections closed on May 28 and resulted in the seating of 50 Staff Senators, including 21 first-time Staff Senate representatives. Credentials and Nominations received a total of 106 applications, both from returning Senators and first-time applicants. The seating of the senators was approved unanimously.

Due to COVID-19 scheduling conflicts, the Staff Senate meetings were moved from the second Monday of each month to the second Tuesday. After a senator poll revealed overwhelming support for Tuesday meetings, changes to Article IV of the Senate bylaws were proposed that will allow for flexibility in meeting scheduling moving forward. Senators will vote on the proposed bylaw changes at next month’s Staff Senate meeting.

On May 25, President Bendapudi announced the observance of Juneteenth as a university holiday starting this year and moving forward. In response to the university’s inaugural observance of Juneteenth, the Committee on Anti-Racism Efforts (CARE) prepared recommendations for the Staff Senate.

The chair of CARE, Leondra Gully, presented the recommendations before the Senate. CARE proposed that a statement on behalf of the Staff Senate that recognizes the university’s commitment to observe Juneteenth, as well as the historical significance of the holiday. Additionally, the statement will inform recipients how they can celebrate within the campus community or individually. The proposed Juneteenth statement was approved by senators.

Committee reports and a of the virtual meeting can be found on the . The next Staff Senate meeting will be held on July 13 in a hybrid format via Microsoft Teams; more information is forthcoming.

“The history is ugly, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be taught. We teach it so people will know what happened and prevent history from repeating itself,” said Master’s Entry into Professional Nursing student Derrick Olanrewaju.

UofL joins numerous colleges and universities that now observe as an official holiday June 19, the day in 1865 when enslaved persons in Texas and other southern states were finally freed – more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

“To me this recognition is the university saying that they want to honor the lives of the ancestors who died for us to be free, give reverence to the ancestors still fighting for us to be free and say to the Black community of UofL that our history matters,” said Riece Hamilton, vice president/president-elect of the Black Faculty and Staff Association.

Slavery existed because of racism which scars the past and infiltrates established systems ranging from education and health care to housing and employment.

“Until everyone acknowledges and understands that the United States’ pattern of enslavement and racism still impacts the systems and institutions that prevent equality and equity, we won’t be able to move forward collectively,” said Sydney Finley, executive vice president of the Student Government Association, and vice president of the Black and Brown Honors Society.��“The only way these problems will even begin to be addressed on a systematic level is through action by those who hold the sociopolitical and economic power to do so.”

The BFSA worked with the Office of the President to ensure formal recognition of Juneteenth as a university holiday, this year on Friday, June 18,��since the holiday falls on a Saturday. The recognition includes a celebration and��.

“When the words ‘all men are created equal’ were written, it meant only white men. In the words of Fannie Lou Hamer, ‘[n]obody’s free until everybody’s free.’ Now, we can all observe Juneteenth as a true all-encompassing independence where we support efforts toward anti-racism and social justice,” said BFSA President Carcyle Barrett.

Juneteenth observations extend beyond institutional efforts. Jessica Jackson, a graduate student in the Sports Administration program, says she personally aims to educate and influence others on issues related to discrimination.��

“I hope to lead change by being the change and encouraging the people around me to listen to marginalized and underrepresented groups of people and act accordingly to their needs,” she said.

These growing efforts are providing a sense of optimism. Olanrewaju says he has faith in what the future holds, and��is glad to be a part of that hopeful future.

“I wanted to become a nurse to increase representation of Black people in health care,” he says. “I want to be an advocate for patients regardless of their race, religion, identity, socioeconomic status or nationality. I will contribute to lasting change by using the knowledge and training I receive at UofL to achieve those goals.”

Learn more about supporting UofL’s diversity initiatives online here.