Clark State College will host community activities in celebration of Juneteenth.

Considered the longest-running African American holiday, Juneteenth honors the end of slavery in the United States. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring enslaved people in the states currently engaged in rebellion against the Union, free. It wasn't until nearly two and half years when federal troops arrived to Galveston, Texas to share the news. As a result, June 19, 1865, marks the day in which the end of slavery took its effect, per the Emancipation Proclamation.

Clark State will host a Daily Juneteenth Quiz Contest June 12 through June 16 in collaboration with the Clark State library. All Clark State alumni, students, faculty, staff, and community members can participate for a chance to win a prize. Visit the Clark State Facebook page to participate. Prizes have been donated by local Blackowned businesses. Here are a few that have donated:

On June 9 at 1 p.m., Clark State will host guest speaker Camille Hall who will speak about the Gammon House and how the community can get involved with the historic landmark. This event is free to the community and will take place via Zoom.

Registration for Camille Hall’s lecture is open at: https://clarkstate.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZArf-yrqTIpGdzdSS2sKQY70ShflyYCKbgP

Hall is a local minority community advocate. In addition to her full-time work, Hall devotes her time to supporting various service initiatives around the Miami Valley. Over the past three years she has served as a member of the Gammon House Board of Directors with focus in community outreach and resource development initiatives. Camille believes people have the power to create positive change through collective initiatives and shared goals. 

Clark State will also host a Bid Whist Tournament beginning at 2:30 p.m., Saturday, June 18 at the Gammon House, 620 Piqua Place, Springfield. The tournament is part of the annual Juneteenth FatherFest Celebration.

Bid Whist is a partnership trick-taking variant of the classic card game: Whist. Bid Whist adds a bidding element to the game not present in classic whist.

Team registration for the Bid Whist tournament is required at: https://bit.ly/37pEYYg

The Bid Whist tournament format is a single elimination team contest, each game will be determined by the traditional 7 in/7 out scoring method with a maximum of five (5) hands played to determine a winner. If the score is tied at the end of five hands, a one- hand tie breaker will determine the winner, first diamond deals. The preliminary round will be a ‘best 2 out of 3’ format, all subsequent rounds will be ‘one game/winner advances.’

Juneteenth was declared a Federal holiday in 2021; In honor of this, Clark State will be closed Monday, June 19, 2023.

“Juneteenth isn't just Black History,” said Breion Hawkins, diversity coordinator at Clark State. “It is also a part of American history, and the more we engage in conversations about Juneteenth, the better we can understand its impact on our history and learn to celebrate it as a federal holiday,”