Luther to commemorate Juneteenth with trip to Waterloo

To commemorate Juneteenth, Luther College’s Center for Intercultural Engagement and Support (CIES) is hosting a day trip to Waterloo on Saturday, June 21. The trip’s itinerary includes a visit to the African American Historical and Cultural Museum, lunch at Rodney’s Kitchen and the 30th annual Juneteenth Celebration at Sullivan Memorial Park.

The trip will depart from the front of the Dahl Centennial Union at 9 a.m. and return to Decorah at 6 p.m. The cost, which includes transportation, lunch and admission, is $10 per person. The deadline to reserve a spot is Friday, June 13. For anyone interested, please RSVP online. For more information or to ask questions, email cies@luther.edu.

In addition to the day trip to Waterloo, CIES invites community members to a lunch-and-learn event starting at noon on Wednesday, June 11 in the Mott Room. Join us to watch “Juneteenth: Faith & Freedom,” a 2022 documentary that invites viewers to experience the story of Juneteenth through the eyes of a Black man learning about the holiday from the direct descendants of those liberated.

Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of enslaved Africans and African Americans. On June 19, 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to notify the more than 250,000 remaining enslaved Africans they were now free. Although Juneteenth is the newest federal holiday gaining recognition in 2021, African Americans have celebrated the day for decades.

In addition, Luther College will observe Juneteenth as an administrative and federal holiday.