The USC community will gather online Friday morning for an intercampus commemoration of Juneteenth, a day of reflection and celebration of Black heritage. It will include student tributes, artistic performances and more.
The event begins at 11 a.m. and can be accessed via Zoom (meeting ID 950 9028 8480, or join by telephone 669-900-6833 or 253-215-8782).
Highlights will include student tributes, an artistic presentation by Associate Professor d. Sabela grimes of the USC Kaufman School of Dance and a dramatic reading by Anita Dashiell-Sparks, associate dean of equity, diversity and inclusion at the USC School of Dramatic Arts.
USC President Carol L. Folt, Senior Vice President for Human Resources Felicia Washington and Camille Rich, associate provost for faculty and student initiatives, will host the event. Among the scheduled speakers:
- Milton Curry, dean of the USC School of Architecture
- Sarah Gehlert, dean of the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work
- Laura Mosqueda, dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC
- Joyce Richey, associate dean for diversity and inclusion at the Keck School of Medicine
- Jody David Armour, professor at the USC Gould School of Law
- LaVonna Lewis, associate dean of diversity, equity and inclusion at the USC Price School of Public Policy
Juneteenth marks the date in 1865 when word of emancipation finally reached slaves in Galveston, Texas — the far boundary of the former Confederacy — 2 1/2 years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
— by David Medzerian