A spirit of joy and celebration surrounded the Fulton Library Quad at Utah Valley University (UVU) on June 21 during the school’s annual Juneteenth Celebration. The UVU African Diaspora Initiative hosted the festivities to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved Africans in the United States.

The theme for the celebration was "Freedom and Divinity,” which aimed to foster a positive self-image for Black people, women, and youth by expressing freedom through celebration and honoring the divinity within everyone.

“I think it's important for the students of African descent to feel represented on campus,” said African Diaspora Initiative Director Jerome Currelley. “We're in a space where they're in the minority; we want to have events that speak to our collective experiences and our histories and struggles and trials. And we also want to welcome the rest of the student body to learn about those histories and to participate in making UVU a better place for everyone.”

The celebration featured artwork from local illustrator and figurative artist Melissa Tshikamba, whose work, according to the artist’s site, “aims to eradicate internalized racism, enlighten and empower others, and expand and showcase the endless possibilities and perspectives from the African Diaspora.” Tshikamba hosted a gallery in the Roots of Knowledge during the event.

“One of the reasons I think it's important to be here is that equality means celebrating everyone, and that also means celebrating all of our history, not being selective about it,” Tshikamba said. “ I think my art is supposed to symbolize thinking outside of the box and thinking outside of ourselves. My art is to empower people, to [enlighten] people and help them learn more and to help them feel empowered and beautiful and recognize themselves [in] spaces where they don't usually see themselves.”

The anti-bullying initiative Izzy’s Village lent a supportive hand for the night’s festivities, calling for attendees’ remembrance of Isabella Faith Tichenor, the ten-year-old Black student from North Salt Lake, Utah, who, on November 6, 2021, committed suicide due to severe bullying at school because of her skin color.

Izzy’s Village provides mental health awareness, action against racism, and anti-bullying efforts in K-6 schools. They aim to empower minorities and marginalized groups so that no one feels the loneliness, bullying, and isolation Izzy faced.

Currelley expressed his appreciation for all those who assisted with the event and remarked on the importance of community and campus partnerships to bring events like these together.

“I want to express the fact that Juneteenth on campus and other events are great opportunities for students who are in leadership to be engaged with our programming,” he said. “We have students who work with us directly at the African Diaspora Initiative, and we also collaborated with the student government. They really helped with some of the programming, as well as the rest of Multicultural Student Services.

It's so inspiring to see UVU students come together and create organizations to make changes in the world and to be able to find mentorship at UVU and supported events like these to promote the development and growth of their organizations and African Diaspora.”

Learn more about and contribute to the UVU African Diaspora Initiative.