Happy Juneteenth!

As Juneteenth.com so eloquently states, "Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free."

If you're unfamiliar with Juneteenth (which hopefully you won't be by the time you graduate), there are plenty of great places for more information:

• History of Juneteenth by Jessica McElrath, About.com Guide to African-American History
• Find a list of Juneteenth celebrations near you
• New York Times book review of Ralph Ellison's unfinished novel Juneteenth (finished by Ellison's literary executor, John F. Callahan)