Juneteenth National Independence Day

Juneteenth is on Monday, June 19th, 2023! De Anza is observing Juneteenth - No classes & offices are closed.

Click here to view the UMOJA community, a program "based on an African-centered philosophy that enables students to see themselves within a positive historical and cultural context."

This community was developed "to promote transferring and increase academic and personal success. The Umoja program aims to address student needs through supportive services and curriculum that is based on literature from across the African Diaspora."

Click here to view De Anza events and observations!

Please view De Anza Library's guide on Black History Month for more context.

Juneteenth is also known as Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, and Black Independence Day.

Juneteenth is a combination and the month "June" and the date "nineteenth". This date commemorates June 19th, 1865, when enslaved peoples in Gavleston, Texas found out slavery was abolished two years prior in 1863. June 19th was the day the remainder of Confederate States were told of the proclamation. On June 19th, 1865 Union Army general Gordon Granger announced General Order No. 3 in Gavleston, proclaiming freedom for slaves in Texas. Texas was the last state in the Union with institutionalized slavery.

On June 17th, 2017, President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, creating the newest Federal Holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.