On June 17, 2020 Governor Whitmer issued a proclamation making Juneteenth an official Michigan holiday.
Today Friday, June 19, 2020 we recognize Juneteenth or June 19, 2020 as an emancipation celebration. Learn more here: https://www.blkfreedom.org/
Juneteenth has become a long-standing day of celebration, meant to honor African-American resilience and the end of slavery.
In acknowledgment, many of our YMCA Day Campers will learn about the historical relevance of Juneteenth while they engage in activities that instill the importance of diversity and inclusion. These concepts will help build character and contribute to Y kids becoming incredible adults. Character development is embedded in our YMCA youth development programs. This is inclusive of real-world opportunities to learn about diversity and inclusion. This is not just work we do today. This is our work every day.
Fall 2019 prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and prior to the intensified awareness of systemic and structural racial challenges our country is addressing today our YMCA adopted inclusion as our YMCA fifth core value through a unanimous vote of our board of directors. The YMCA’s core values are caring, honesty, inclusion, respect and responsibility. Five ideals we strive to share with our members, community and the world to make every day better.