Bay Path Invites the Community to Commemorate Juneteenth with a Virtual Celebration

Longmeadow, MA —  Bay Path University invites the public to join its Juneteenth celebration to acknowledge and celebrate the history and significance of Juneeteenth, the oldest celebrated remembrance acknowledging the end of slavery (1865) in the United States. This festive virtual event will offer a candid conversation on the significance of this holiday,  encouraging each of us to create awareness and intentionality with our own actions in solidarity for the Black community.

The June 18th event will consist of a virtual art gallery and a moderated panel discussion on the history of Juneteenth. Panelists include Dr. Amilcar Shabazz, Professor of History & Africana Studies in the W.E.B. DuBois Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst; Dr. Gwen Jordan, JD, Associate Professor and Chair of the Undergraduate Justice and Legal Studies Department at Bay Path University, and previous staff attorney with the Illinois Innocence Project; and Janell Smith, rising Bay Path junior, president of the Bay Path Black Student Union, and Western Massachusetts community volunteer and social justice activist.

With a combined academic and professional background that blends both the past and the present, this discussion will bring both historical aspects of Juneteenth to the forefront, while also enlightening the community on present day issues still faced by the Black community.

“While it’s important we celebrate historically significant and impactful events, it’s also important that we continue to educate ourselves on how that history plays into current day reality,” shared Elizabeth Cardona, Bay Path University’s Executive Director of Multicultural Affairs and International Student Life. “The past and the present are always connected, and this panel discussion will really help us to learn from the past, so that we can apply those lessons to the future.”

Bay Path’s virtual Juneteenth celebration is scheduled for Friday, June 18th, from 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. This free event is open to the public; registration is required. For more information and to register, please visit baypath.edu/juneteenth. This event is hosted by the Bay Path University Online Society for Diversity and Cultural Awareness (OSDCA) and the Bay Path University Office of Multicultural Affairs.