Juneteenth is an annual holiday on June 19 that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. This year's celebration of freedom and Black history takes place amid nationwide protests against racial injustice following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Indiana University experts are available to comment on the origins and significance of Juneteenth as the country continues to confront racism.
Carolyn Calloway-Thomas is professor and chair of African American and African Diaspora studies at Indiana University Bloomington. She is past president of the World Communication Association, co-editor of "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Sermonic Power of Discourse," author of "Empathy in the Global World: An Intercultural Perspective," and co-author of "Intercultural Communication: A Text with Readings" and "Intercultural Communication: Roots and Routes."
Gloria Howell is the associate director of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center at Indiana University Bloomington. She is also faculty coordinator for a first-year experience and introductory research course for freshman Hudson and Holland Scholars. Her research focuses on Black students broadly, specifically identity development and affirmation, culturally relevant pedagogy and curricular practices, and the effects of student activism on institutional change.
Monica Johnson is university director of diversity education and cross-cultural engagement and director of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center at Indiana University Bloomington, a unit of the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs. For the entirety of her career, she has been active nationally in issues dealing with access and success in higher education.
Rasul Mowatt is a professor and former chair of the Department of Health & Wellness Design in the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington and a professor in the Department of American Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. His primary areas are social justice, leisure behavior, cultural studies and critical pedagogy.
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