Webster University Ghana Celebrates Juneteenth

This year’s Juneteenth celebration at Webster Ghana was themed “Juneteenth Lunch & Learn,” which combined a learning session with a social event. Campus Director Christa Sanders Bobtoya welcomed all students, staff and faculty, and gave a brief history of Juneteenth. The goal for this year’s celebration was to educate students on the history of Juneteenth and have meaningful discussions on the topic.

Delia Gillis, a professor in history and founding director of Center of Africana Studies at the University of Central Missouri, was the keynote speaker of the event. Her teaching and research include African American history, African American women and the African diaspora.

Gillis gave a lecture on U.S. history, explaining that the Emancipation Proclamation, issued by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, freed enslaved people in the southern American states. Juneteenth celebrates the emancipation of enslaved Africans. Gillis explained the U.S. Congress ultimately ratified the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery. 

Gillis reflected on a quote from Frederick Douglas: "Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one's thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist.”  

Next came a moving dance performance by Webster University St. Louis dance majors Haley Rhiney and Ashley Johnson. The self-choreographed piece was performed to the African American National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing."

Afterward, attendees enjoyed African American soul food traditions.

The event ended with Juneteenth trivia, which shed more light on the history of Juneteenth and other related topics. Winners received Ghana-made chocolates.

Juneteenth has become an annual celebration at the Ghana campus given the connection between Ghana, the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade and the United States.