Stanford Celebrates Juneteenth with Forums, Food, and Films
Stanford’s Juneteenth Committee hosted a series of dynamic events last month, including art exhibits, culinary events and discussion forums to honor the historical significance of the holiday.
Juneteenth, short for June 19, commemorates the day General Gordon Granger marched into Galveston, Texas, in 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, to secure the freedom of all slaves. The following year, Texas freedmen held “Jubilee Day” on June 19, which has since become an annual celebration of freedom. In 2021, President Joe Biden designated the day as a federal holiday.
The committee’s programming kicked off June 4 with an inaugural art exhibit at the Redwood City campus and a screening of the film “Rising: The Hall of Negro Life.” Many Bay Area arts communities, such as Oakland’s African American Quilt Guild, participated in the events that followed, sharing personal stories through art.
Several food-focused events also provided attendees with an opportunity to learn about Black culinary culture. Chefs Terry Braggs and William Montagne shared recipes and hosted food tastings on June 18. At the June 19 “Food & Community” event, chef Dillon Campbell served dishes like fried fish and jerk chicken and provided insight into the historical significance of menu items.
Braggs chose risotto-style jambalaya and fried green tomato salad as his daily menu during his live cooking demonstration on June 25.
“If you look inside, you can see the red, the green, the yellow,” he said. “It’s a time to celebrate Juneteenth in such a beautiful and delicious way. It’s a time of celebration, a time of unity and a time of freedom, where you can eat incredible food and make memories.”
Other parts of the university also held Juneteenth celebrations. The Stanford School of Medicine’s human resources group hosted two forums, one in person and one online, for African American staff members from across campus to connect. Both forums were led by Solāris Noire, chief operating officer of the National Equity Project, an education reform nonprofit.
“Racial affinity is an important part of life today, it’s celebrated and it brings joy,” Noire said. “We’re trying to center the story, to center the racial experience of Black people. It doesn’t necessarily ask us to have ‘sameness,’ but to really think about what it means to be Black at Stanford.”
During both forums, Noire led meditation sessions and guided conversations about African-American culture. Among the issues the group discussed were: “What are the lands, hands and food that carried you?“
Chris White, coordinator of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) at Stanford School of Medicine, reflected on this question at the forum.
White said the “hands” that carried her were those of her great-grandmother Marianna Griffiths in Tyler, Texas. Griffiths “was a great foundation that I still lean on, and she set the tone and trajectory” for White and her family. Griffiths also provided the food that carried White — a “good catfish dinner.”
Ms. White spoke positively about the forum. “It was refreshing to really get to know the people I work with beyond the workspace, to understand who they are as individuals and how that influences their work and career choices,” she said.
Noire said they hope to create an environment for participants to make connections and also help maintain those connections in a meaningful way.
“Trying to make community and belonging more accessible and affordable for people is an opportunity for us to dream and imagine together,” they said.
Although June has already passed, the Juneteenth celebration continues. The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) will host a “Julyteenth” event on Friday, July 19, open to the community.
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