Juneteenth celebration: Growing in love and cultural understanding

Written by ShaeLynn Erickson

One of North Central University’s core desires as an institution is to love our neighbors well. This heavenly calling guides the way we interact with the world around us—especially in the Twin Cities.

More than three million people from countless nations and ethnic backgrounds call the Twin Cities home. While it can be challenging to to navigate cultural and language barriers, it can also present an immense opportunity to learn and grow in our cultural intelligence, and in our ability and call to love our neighbors..

Closing our campus to Juneteenth (this year recognized on June 20)  is one of several ways we honor the diversity found in our city and on our campus. While Juneteenth only recently became a federally recognized holiday, it has been celebrated across the United States since 1865. Juneteenth, typically celebrated on June 19, celebrates the emancipation of enslaved African American people in the United States. For many people in the Black community, this holiday holds special meaning, especially as the fight for social justice continues in our modern context.

For those who did not grow up celebrating Juneteenth, this holiday provides a perfect opportunity to grow in understanding the Black American community, and particularly the history of slavery, racial discrimination, and the issues of social justice.

Not sure where to start? Check out these book suggestions from NCU’s TJ Jones Library staff

Children’s Books:

Opal Lee and What it Means to be Free by Alice Faye Duncan

Non-Fiction History:

A Black Woman’s History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry

On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed

Often when we don’t understand things, it can be easy to dismiss them or ignore them, but in the case of Juneteenth, understanding the complex history of the Black community allows us a better opportunity to love our neighbors, and to recognize their struggles and successes. In celebrating Juneteenth, we recognize the ways our nation has grown in freedom and equality, and the work ahead of us to grow in biblical justice, cultural awareness, and acceptance. Continuing to learn, to empathize, and to seek wisdom is the first step to loving our neighbors as we have been called.

Subscribe and stay informed

Sign up to receive email notifications when we post the latest blog.