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June 18, 2021
At Institute for Oral Health, equity is at the core of everything we do. Whether it’s through our grantmaking, advocacy, health improvement work, education or research we prioritize the underserved and amplify their voices.
Today, we stand together and applaud the passage of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.
Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan, CareQuest Institute president and CEO, shared her perspective on this historic moment:
“Today we join in celebrating the actions of Congress and the Biden Administration making Juneteenth a federal holiday,” said Dr. Minter-Jordan. “This is an important step in recognizing our shared history, but we must continue to take concrete action to address racial equity and systemic racism. We have the tools and understanding to address racial injustice head on — from health disparities to police brutality to economic inequity. To truly be a society founded on “freedom and justice for all,” we need to work together to fight for the future.”
Juneteenth is an annual holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States and has been celebrated by African Americans since the late 1800s. It commemorates the day (June 19) in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform enslaved African Americans of their freedom, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed and two months after the Civil War had ended.
President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law on June 17, 2021.