Juneteenth Celebration
Galloway, N.J. – Stockton University is hosting an all-day celebration in commemoration of Juneteenth that is open to the community from 1-5 p.m. on Monday, June 17, in the Kesselman Hall quad on the Atlantic City campus.
The program, titled “Black Power and Appreciation,” will feature a keynote speech by Lt. Governor Tahesha Way and a cultural exhibition of African-American icons and legends curated by Ralph Hunter, the founder of the African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey.
As part of Stockton’s commitment to the Atlantic City community, attendees will have the opportunity to directly support local vendors and small businesses. In addition, there will be games to win Stockton merch and music by Africana Studies alumna Lillian “DJ Lills” Nickens ’24.
Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States that originated in 1865. Two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, there were still enslaved African Americans in Texas. Juneteenth commemorates the moment that the last remaining enslaved person in Texas was liberated.
This event is sponsored by the Unified Black Students Society, Commuters on the Go, Stockton's chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Office of Student Development and the Multicultural Center.
Kesselman Hall is located at 3711 Atlantic Ave., Atlantic City, 08401. Parking is available in the garage located at 101 South Lincoln Place.
Stockton, Community Commemorate Juneteenth
June 21, 2022
Galloway, N.J.- The Stockton community marked Juneteenth with a cookout and celebration in front of the future Multicultural Center on Friday, June 17.
Christopher Catching, vice president for Student Affairs, welcomed students and community members to the event and commended Stockton for its progressiveness, noting the new center will open in Fall 2022.
“It’s my hope that our next Juneteenth program will be slightly different,” Catching said. “It will be housed within and around the center, and I expect you all to attend."
The event was organized by Unified Black Student Society (UBSS), African Student Organization (ASO), Caribbean Student Association (CSA), Stockton’s NAACP chapter, Student Senate, and the office of Student Development. The celebration is the third held at Stockton in recent years, inspired by celebrations that originated in Texas, a state that still had enslaved African Americans two years after the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
Anthony “AJ” Brooks, president of UBSS, said he felt it was important to honor the day that the remaining enslaved people were finally liberated in 1865.
“Juneteenth is a holiday that is under-recognized throughout the nation and the world,” Brooks said. “Many do not know the significance of what happened to those slaves and our event brought together students and people from the community to pay respects to those who came before us. We thanked them for their sacrifices that led us to this point as well as discussed what we can do to keep moving forward as a race.”
Story and photos by Loukaia Taylor
