Tigers Together Summer Series: Considering Juneteenth

Tigers Together Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summer Series: Considering Juneteenth

Every Friday for the month of September, Princeton Athletics will highlight summer community engagement and education events. In the first installment, Associate Athletic Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Miles Smith Jr. reflects on "Considering Juneteenth".

Juneteenth is the commemoration of the emancipation of the remaining enslaved Black people of the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas, with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. This was two and a half years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation — which became official January 1, 1863.

On Sunday, June 18th, I served as the moderator for "Considering Juneteenth." This event was an educational forum hosted by the Princeton Civil Rights Commission, the Princeton Public Library and Princeton Human Services. The event focused on exploring the historical aspects of Juneteenth and how it is connected to society today, with a list of panelists that included Michelle Tuck-Ponder, Esq. (Chief Executive Officer of Destination Imagination, Inc. and also the former mayor of Princeton as well as a member of the Princeton Board of Education), Hendrik Hartog (Class of 1921 Bicentennial Professor in the History of American Law and Liberty, Emeritus; Professor of History, Emeritus at Princeton University) and Sherrod Smith (who serves as a Deputy Attorney General for the New Jersey Attorney General's Office of Public Integrity and Accountability).

The Programming started off with an authentic video of the late Steve DiGregorio, a longtime Princeton assistant football coach who had delivered an historical introduction of Juneteenth. The video was an original recording of Steve when he presented to the Mercer County Community College Men's Basketball team on the educational importance of Juneteenth. Throughout Steve's video, I could feel his passion but yet discomfort of emotions as he spoke to a group of African American males from Mercer County Community College about the history of Juneteenth.

After the video introduction, the panelists spoke candidly about the exploration of Juneteenth. Panelists also provided their perspective on the significance of Juneteenth and why it took so long to recognize Juneteenth as a National Holiday. Panelists provided a sense of optimism with thoughts and ideas on how to push our systems to include Juneteenth in our curriculum and promote meaningful conversations, as well as what the Princeton community can do to continue education and celebrate Juneteenth.

I was able to have multiple conversations with Princeton community members. My overall perspective of these conversations suggests that the exploration of Juneteenth provided a multitude of emotions for everyone. There was a new perspective on the significance of Juneteenth; however, this also allowed community members, our panelists and me to consistently ask ourselves the question: Why has the lack of education, if any, on Juneteenth been absent in all early developmental stages of history in the United States?

This was my first time serving as a moderator. I am exceedingly grateful for my friend Howard Levy (Class of '85 and a former Princeton Men's Basketball student-athlete and coach and now the head men's basketball coach at MCCC) for providing me the opportunity to play a role in such an impactful conversation. I am also grateful for the relationships that started to organically develop with members of the Princeton Civil Rights Committee Priya Peyman and Fern Spruill, two amazing individuals with beautiful souls. Kim Dorman, Princeton Public Library Community Engagement Coordinator, and I consistently had reflective conversations throughout the preparation for "Considering Juneteenth." Our conversations always seemed to be enlightening as we both found interest in the work of American writer Clint Smith III.

My intention will be to continue these incredible collaborations with Princeton Community members and community leaders. In a zestful way, I believe that there are healthy emotions that are threaded through wisdom in building educational collaboration with the community. As our partnership grows, you allow room for a transformative process in dealing with cultivating the dynamics of thought as it relates to the systemic issue that causes uncomfortable and vacillating feelings.

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