The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) celebrated Juneteenth by bringing together neighbors, students, faculty, and staff for an afternoon of history, community, and celebration during its fifth annual Juneteenth Jubilee on June 18.
Held for the first time inside 4MLK at the University of Maryland BioPark, the free event featured line dancing, food from local eatery Neopol, giveaways, a photo booth, and hands-on activities, bringing the community together to celebrate.
An attendee enjoys a snow cone during UMB's fifth annual Juneteenth Jubilee on June 18.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce that all enslaved people were free — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. At UMB, the annual jubilee celebrates that history while creating opportunities for education, reflection, and connection between the University and the surrounding community.
“Juneteenth gives us an opportunity to celebrate freedom while strengthening the relationships that make our community so special,” said Danielle Harris, LCSW-C, director of community engagement operations in UMB’s Office of Community and Civic Engagement (OCCE). “We want this event to be a welcoming space where neighbors, students, faculty, and staff can come together, learn from one another, and celebrate together.”
The event was co-sponsored by OCCE and UMB’s Office of Inclusive Excellence and Institutional Effectiveness (IEIE). For Reetta Gach, MS, MBA, director at IEIE, the celebration was an opportunity to demonstrate the office’s mission beyond the University community.
“We’re proud to co-sponsor this event, because this is really our work in action,” Gach said. “It’s about connecting belonging and community.”
That sense of community resonated with attendees like Terry Burr, who regularly participates in programs at UMB’s Community Engagement Center (CEC).
“People are coming together,” Burr said. “You’ve got food, you’ve got music, you’ve got a family atmosphere, and you’ve got people that care about one another. That’s what I like.”
The event also provided UMB students with an opportunity to connect with West Baltimore beyond the classroom. Nia Smith, a second-year student at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, volunteered after first becoming involved with programs at the CEC last year. She said she was drawn to the community hub because of its focus on bringing people together through inclusive events such as the Juneteenth Jubilee.
“We’ve been able to see residents from the community come in and enjoy a bite to eat, laugh together, get different knick-knacks to take home with them,” Smith said. “It’s also been a great opportunity just to engage with different people, meet them for the first time, or see familiar faces and laugh and learn more about each other.”
Harris said the annual jubilee is as much about building new relationships as celebrating Juneteenth. She noted that many attendees were visiting a UMB event for the first time after hearing about it from friends or seeing it on social media, adding, “It’s a great opportunity for us to meet and greet new neighbors, so that we can also show them all the other great things that are happening on campus.”
The move to 4MLK gave organizers room to expand the celebration with new activities, including line dancing, while providing more space for families to gather. As the event continues to grow, Harris said the goal remains the same: to create a welcoming space where neighbors can celebrate Juneteenth, connect with one another, and learn more about the University’s work in the community.
