Juneteenth: Reflections on Freedom, Racial, and Economic Justice for African Descendants

Juneteenth commemorates the issuance of the emancipation proclamation for enslaved African descendants in Texas on June 19th,1865. In celebration of Juneteenth—now a federal holiday—the African American Affairs Committee of the ABA Section on Civil Rights and Social Justice and the Nevada Equal Rights Commission (NERC) are co-hosting this hybrid event.

This joint program commemorating Juneteenth will highlight the significance of abolition and emancipation to the state of racial and economic justice and equality for African descendants—historically, contemporarily, and globally.

Internationally renowned civil rights scholar, Fordham University School of Law Archibald R. Murray Professor of Law Tanya Katerí Hernández, author of Racial Innocence: Unmasking Latino Anti-Black Bias and the Struggle for Equality, will deliver the keynote address followed by opening remarks from notable leaders from the Nevada community and the American Bar Association.

Distinguished Speaker:
Tanya Katerí Hernández – Archibald R. Murray Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law; Author, Racial Innocence: Unmasking Latino Anti-Black Bias and the Struggle for Equality

Other Remarks from:
Juan R. Thomas – Chair, ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice; Of Counsel, Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A.
Wendy Greene – Professor of Law, Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law; Co-Chair, African American Affairs Committee, ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice
Representative Pamelya Herndon – U.S. Representative for New Mexico’s 28th Congressional District; CEO, KWH Law Center for Social Justice and Change; Co-Chair, African American Affairs Committee, ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice
Deborah Enix-Ross – President, American Bar Association; Senior Advisor, International Dispute Resolution Group, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Mary Smith – President-Elect, American Bar Association; Vice Chair, VENG Group; Chair, Caroline and Ora Smith Foundation
Jason M. Frierson – U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada, U.S. Department of Justice

Register HERE: (In-Person Registration / Virtual Registration)

June 16, 2023
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Whitney Library Concert Hall (5175 East Tropicana Avenue