This marks the second year the AAMC is honoring Juneteenth as a holiday, and I hope you take a moment to reflect on and celebrate the many contributions of Black physicians, researchers, advocates, and educators to academic medicine and to our society at large. As you may know, Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day Union army general Gordon Granger proclaimed the freedom of enslaved people to the citizens of Galveston, Texas — two months after the Confederacy’s surrender in the Civil War and more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth takes on more meaning for each of us here at the AAMC as we continue to learn about its history and as we work through our Strategic Plan to address the historical injustices and inequities and their effects, which are still felt today. Learn more about this important holiday.
How are your institutions and organizations planning to reflect and celebrate the many contributions of the Black community in academic medicine and beyond on this day?
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Penny Schnarrs
Virtual Communities Program Manager
Association of American Medical Colleges
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