The date for Juneteenth, which marks the official end of the Civil War, is June 19, but there will be a couple events on different dates in Oakland next week to mark the national holiday.

On June 17, the Office of Institutional Engagement & Wellbeing and Equipoise, Pitt's Black/African American faculty and staff affinity group, will  commemorate Juneteenth with a lecture by Anthony B. Mitchell, associate teaching professor emeritus and co-founder of the Stewart and Jones Scholar Leadership Program at Penn State University, entitled "The Juneteenth Emancipation Day: Did "Freedom Day" Really Make Us Free?"

The event is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the William Pitt Union, Assembly Room. Following the lecture, lunch will be provided with time for community gathering and fellowship. For inquiries, wellbeing@pitt.edu or 412-648-7860. Register here.

On June 20, the Juneteenth Block Party will take place from 3 to 7 p.m. in the Oval Shelter in Schenley Park, near the ice skating rink.

The party is hosted by the Coalition of Residents and Fellows of Color (C-ROC), Equipoise, Pitt Office of Institutional Engagement & Wellbeing, Pitt Office of Health Sciences Engagement & Enrichment, Pitt School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, Physician Inclusion Council at UPMC and Pitt (PICUP), and UPMC GME.

Juneteenth is a federal holiday that recognizes the freedom of formerly enslaved Black people. It was signed into law as a federal holiday on June 17, 2021 by former President Joe Biden. The holiday commemorates the day in 1865 when Major Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in the state of Texas to share the news of the Emancipation Proclamation, announcing the official end of the Civil War.