Baylor Law’s Black Law Student Association Remembers Juneteenth
Baylor Law students Will Onyeike (Left) and Vinny Clark (With Mask) share information about the history and origins of Juneteenth with fellow students
WACO
Members of Baylor Law's Black Law Student Association along with fellow students, faculty, and staff celebrated Juneteenth with an informal gathering and information-sharing session on Friday, June 18, 2021. This year's celebration took on added significance with this week's addition of Juneteenth to the slate of U.S. holidays.
4Q Will Onyeike speaks with Deans Toben (right) and Teague (Center) about Juneteenth during Baylor Law's Black Law Student Association's Juneteenth celebrations
Juneteenth celebrates the June 19, 1865 announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas. On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring that all slaves in the Confederate States of America were to be freed on January 1, 1863. Texas, however, remained a holdout state for slavery, and many slaveholders from other Confederate states had moved to Texas to avoid the Union army's reach. On June 19 in Galveston, Texas, Union Army General Gordon Granger announced General Order #3: the total emancipation of all slaves in the state.
"It's important that we remember Juneteenth because it's an important part of who we are as Americans, especially as Black Americans in this system," stated BLSA representative Vinny Clark (2Q). Fellow Representative Will Onyeike (4Q) added, "Here at Baylor we try hard to embrace everyone as one community so it's important to share [information about Juneteenth] with people who might be unaware of its importance. It might not be as well known as Memorial Day or July 4th, but it still holds the same historical relevance for our country, especially in the Black community."
Students interested in joining Baylor Law's Black Law Student Association can connect with faculty representative, Professor of Law Patricia Wilson, for additional information.
Baylor Law student Rhasean Stephens (Behind Table) shares information about Juneteenth with Baylor Law students and staff
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ABOUT BAYLOR LAW
Established in 1857, Baylor University School of Law was one of the first law schools in Texas and one of the first west of the Mississippi River. Today, the school has more than 7,600 living alumni. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Baylor Law has a record of producing outstanding lawyers, many of whom decide upon a career in public service. The Law School boasts two governors, members or former members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, two former directors of the FBI, U.S. ambassadors, federal judges, justices of the Texas Supreme Court and members of the Texas Legislature, among its notable alumni. In its law specialties rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked Baylor Law's trial advocacy program as one of the top 5 in the nation. Baylor Law is also ranked in the top 50 in the magazine's 2019 edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools." The National Jurist ranks Baylor Law as one of the "Best School for Practical Training," and in the top 15 "Best Law School Facilities" in the country. The Business Insider places Baylor Law among the top 50 law schools in the nation. Baylor Law received the 2015 American Bar Association Pro Bono Publico Award, making it only the third law school in the nation to be honored with the award since the award's inception in 1984. Learn more at baylor.edu/law
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more at baylor.edu
