HCC celebrates Juneteenth at Gulfton, Stafford and West Loop campuses
Jun 27, 2016
Hundreds of faculty, staff, and students gathered to celebrate Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, at the Houston Community College (HCC) Gulfton, Stafford and West Loop campuses.
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed in Galveston with news that the war had ended and the enslaved were free.
Dr. James Shippy, dean of Student Development at Southwest College, spoke during the Stafford celebration to share the history and meaning of Juneteenth.
“This is an opportunity for us to have an open dialogue at the Southwest college and share our past and our knowledge with our students, not only the HCC African American students, but all of our students – young and old,” Shippy said.
During the West Loop campus celebration, Dr. Robert Baker read the history of Juneteenth. Red Cat Jazz Preservationist Vivian Gayle gave a more personal touch to the story by recalling as a child growing up in Texas how she and her family would spend Juneteenth.
“We went to church, no matter what day it fell on,” Gayle said. “We went and celebrated the fact, as African Americans were free, and we reflected on how far we have come and what we have overcame.”
To some, this historic event went unrecognized for years due to regional divides.
“I moved here from California and never heard of Juneteenth until I got to Houston,” West Loop Business Administrative student Tomeka George said. “However, each year I live here, I learn something new - and this year is no different.”
The Stafford and West Loop campus celebrations included a traditional meal, jam sessions from LT and the Zydeco Mob and the Cashmere Alumni Band. A welcome addition to this year’s festivities was Be The Match Donor registry program. Be The Match is the world’s largest and most diverse donor registry providing bone morrow to patients with blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, and other life-threatening diseases. Individuals, especially African Americans, were encouraged to register, become a donor, and potentially save a life.
“An event that attracts a significant number of African Americans gives us the opportunity to add more diversity to our donor registry,” Be The Match Community Engagement Representative Cynthia Nickerson said. “Patients are more likely to match someone of their own race or ethnicity. However, African Americans make up only 7 percent of the Be the Match Registry. This means African Americans patients have a much lower chance of finding a match to save their lives.”
In just a few hours time, Be The Match registered 20 donors between the two campuses.
Africana African American Studies & Women & Gender Studies, Diversity and Inclusion, and Student Life sponsored this year’s event.