June 19, 2023
Dear Colleagues and Students,
Dr. Thomas Parham, President of CSU Dominguez Hills, is one of three Black presidents in the CSU. I want to honor his leadership by sharing with you (with his permission) the message he sent to his campus community regarding today’s first systemwide recognition of Juneteenth on this 19th day of June 2023. I had intended to write my own reflections on this historic day, but I can offer nothing more heartfelt and impactful than this.
“We need leaders not in love with money, but in love with justice. Not in love with publicity, but in love with humanity.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
What a proud moment. As we recognize and commemorate Juneteenth (sometimes called Jubilee Day or Freedom Day), we also celebrate its acknowledgment as an official holiday within the California State University system. This year, as a system, we will mark this milestone with a greater appreciation for the struggle people of African descent endured to both earn and realize freedom in this country, something many take for granted. Â
Simultaneously, this year’s Juneteenth occurs amid a national climate where a celebration of authentic history is under assault by government officials, school boards, and even families in communities across many states. They appear more comfortable amid the ambiance of denial and historic amnesia, afraid to have their fragile sensibilities or those of their children shaken by telling the truth. It is a reminder that freedom demands constant vigilance, advocacy, and action. It is why I am delighted to endorse the CSU’s efforts to celebrate Juneteenth and stand behind a historic document that emerged out of last year’s systemwide Juneteenth Symposium, which will be released soon.Â
At CSUDH, Juneteenth recognition doesn’t translate into a single day’s observance. Here, we interrogate how our curriculum, faculty and staff hiring, and campus climate reflects greater diversity, inclusive excellence, and equality. Through this integrated interrogation, as a community, we can fully understand, appreciate, and respect our common humanity. As Audre Lorde reminds us, “It’s not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.”Â
In this moment, we must also consider all people of color, as well as women, people with disabilities, and LGBTQIA friends and family whose freedom and equality has been delayed, intruded upon, silenced, and denied by policies and practices that aren’t justified, humane, nor characterized by civility, empathy, compassion, or kindness. As Martin Luther King Jr. stated, “No one is free, until we are all free.”
What matters to me on this Freedom Day is becoming a better and more wholesome academic community, one where freedom rings from every corner of the places and spaces we occupy. I am proud to do this work with each of you every single day.
I stand in solidarity with President Parham and with you all in aspiring to and achieving the promise of Freedom Day.
Sincerely,
Richard Yao, Ph.D.
President