EECS Juneteenth Celebration: Celebrating Excellence in People-First Engineering and Computing

The Michigan community is invited to attend the fifth annual EECS Juneteenth Celebration on Wednesday, June 19, from 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. The theme of this year’s event is Celebrating Excellence in People-First Engineering and Computing.

As a university, recognizing Juneteenth involves acknowledging the significance of this date in American history. Juneteenth, which is celebrated on June 19th, marks the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, announced the end of the Civil War, and freed 250,000 slaves in Texas. This was two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation had formally freed slaves in the Confederate states. Juneteenth, which is now a national holiday, commemorates this day, and is considered by many as the country’s second independence day. It is a day for education and reflection on the history of slavery and the ongoing struggle for racial justice.

The program will include:

- Live performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by Amber Rogers (U-M School of Music), first prize winner of the 2024 George Shirley Vocal Competition, with piano accompaniment by Herbert Winful, Joseph E. and Anne P. Rowe Professor of Electrical Engineering

- Abridged reading of the Emancipation Proclamation  

- Presentation by returning alum Shawn Blanton, Joseph F. and Nancy Keithley Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University

- Presentation by returning alum James Mickens, Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science, Harvard School of Engineering & Applied Sciences

- Remarks by EECS department leaders 

- Artwork by Elizabeth Youngblood

At the conclusion of the program, lunch will be available outside in the Gerstacker Grove. The EECS department has partnered with two Black-owned businesses, Good Eats and Motor City Sweet Treats, to offer food truck lunches. Lunch time will also include a performance by Prof. Tiffany Ng, University Carillonist, of music by African-American composers.