Edmonds College will host its annual Juneteenth commemoration on Thursday, June 6, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. at the Black Box Theatre. This year’s theme is “Echoes of Our Ancestors: The Fight Hasn’t Stopped.”

“Juneteenth highlights a critical moment in our history,” said Dr. Yvonne Terrell-Powell, the college’s vice president for Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. “It reminds us of the brutality of slavery, the resilience, strength, and power of African Americans, and the progress we’ve made as a nation. It underscores the importance of communities coming together to advocate and fight for meaningful change that leads to freedom, inclusion, and justice for all.”

The event will feature an opening and welcome from Edmonds President Dr. Amit B. Singh, speeches from student representatives, and a keynote by Dr. Dan Johnson.

Johnson is a retired educator from Seattle Colleges and was formerly the dean for student success at Edmonds. A native of Houston, Texas, Johnson grew up in the Jim Crow segregated South, where the educational systems were separate and unequal. He is a lifelong learner, Black History speaker, DEI and social justice leader and advocate.

Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day and Freedom Day, commemorates June 19, 1865, the day the enslaved African Americans of Galveston, Texas, received the news from the Union army troops that they were free. President Lincoln had freed them when he signed the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier, in 1863, but they were unaware of their freedom.

The event is free to the general public, but attendees are encouraged to preregister at tinyurl.com/juneteenth2024Edmonds. A livestream of the event will be available at edmonds.edu/go/livetv.