Juneteenth Juneteenth is a day to learn more about this period in our history, to reflect on the resilience and strength of our Black community and culture, and to re-commit to ensuring that racism, hatred and oppression have no place in our society or on our campus.

June 18, 2025
Morrill Hall sits on the south end of the University of Nevada, Reno quad, a large lawn area surrounded by trees and a walking path.

Juneteenth

Juneteenth is a day to learn more about this period in our history, to reflect on the resilience and strength of our Black community and culture, and to re-commit to ensuring that racism, hatred and oppression have no place in our society or on our campus.

June 18, 2025

Dear Wolf Pack Family,

As we approach Juneteenth on Thursday, June 19, marking the end of slavery in our country, we have an important opportunity in front of us. Juneteenth is a day to learn more about this period in our history, to reflect on the resilience and strength of our Black community and culture, and to re-commit to ensuring that racism, hatred and oppression have no place in our society or on our campus. We mark this important date because of its historical significance. June 19, 1865, is the date that saw Union troops arrive in Galveston, Texas at the end of the Civil War to free the remaining enslaved African Americans.

Longtime Reno resident and founder of the Northern Nevada Black Cultural Awareness Society, Coni Taylor, once wrote of Juneteenth: “It was on June 19, 1865, when Gen. Gordon Granger arrived at Galveston Bay and in the name of President Andrew Johnson issued a general order proclaiming the authority of the United States over Texas. The date Gen. Granger arrived in Texas to force slave owners to release their slaves became known as Juneteenth (short for June 19).” The action by Gen. Granger in Texas came about two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Because of the federal recognition of June 19, the University of Nevada, Reno campus will be closed.

Juneteenth has far-reaching significance for our country. At the University of Nevada, Juneteenth also invites us to reflect on our own institutional legacy. In 1930, Theodore Miller became the University’s first Black graduate, followed by Stella Mason Parson, the first Black woman graduate, in 1952. Their accomplishments paved the way for generations of students to follow.

I encourage all members of our campus community to learn more about the Juneteenth observance, which officially became a federal holiday in 2021, with Nevada recognizing it as a state holiday when Gov. Joe Lombardo signed the bill into law in 2023. The Smithsonian has a great deal of information about the history of Juneteenth, as well as where it stands on the national landscape today.

The Juneteenth spirit of freedom and justice is one that we can all embrace throughout the year; let us all further a world where all individuals can flourish.

Go Pack!

Sincere regards,

Brian Sandoval
President

June 18, 2025