Communications from UNC's Vice President of the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

For those of Jewish faith, late September through mid-October represents the first month of the Jewish year, known as Tishrei. The month encompasses the two most significant holidays of the Jewish Faith, the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. During this time, please remember that our students, faculty, and staff may observe this time filled with special blessings, food, and prayer and may request time away.

Latinx Heritage Month will begin this September 15 and is celebrated through October 15. During this month-long celebration, we honor the history, culture, and contributions of Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. First observed as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 under President Lyndon Johnson, the celebration was extended to 30 days in 1988 under President Ronald Reagan.

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. We use this month to reach out to those affected by suicide, raise awareness and connect individuals with suicidal ideation to treatment services. It is also important to ensure that individuals, friends and families have access to the resources they need to discuss suicide prevention.

Today commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote in a federal election. We celebrate the accomplishments and progress of how far women’s rights have come, but much more work is yet to be done.

Today commemorates Marcus Moziah Garvey, a Jamaican-born Black political activist, publisher, and journalist (to name a few). Garvey was probably the most charismatic Afro-American leader until Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He established a chain of businesses including factories, hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, and laundries and was the founder of the Negro World newspaper, Black Star Line, and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). Garvey popularized, and is credited for, the phrase “Black Is Beautiful”, giving his followers and supporters a sense of hope and power.

Signed into law on June 23, 1972, by President Richard Nixon, Title IX of the Civil Rights Act states, "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

On June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas to share the proclamation with enslaved African Americans living in that state, which numbered more than 250,000, that they were free and should be treated has hired workers. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, a full two years prior to the arrival of Granger in Texas, there were still many slaves who were not freed by slave owners even after 1865. Many slave owners did not free their slaves until after the follow harvest and others still not until ordered to do so by a government representative.

Celebrated annually during the month of June, LGBTQ+ Pride Month is recognized in the United States as well as around the globe. The first organized demonstrations of Gay Pride took place in June 1970 in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco in commemoration of the riots that took place at the Stonewall Inn in June of 1969 in New York. LGBTQ+ Pride month provides a time to recognize and celebrate the progress that so many across the country have worked toward in support of LGBTQ+ rights and, in some countries and even some US cities, the demonstrations are a continued campaign for equal rights. LGBTQ+ Pride month is also a time to remember members of the LGBTQ+ community who were victims of hate crimes and HIV/AIDS.

Asian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, celebrated annually during the month of May, celebrates the various cultures and contributions made by persons of Asian and Pacific Islander decent to the United States. The term Asian and Pacific Islander includes people of an array of diverse cultures, beliefs and languages. Asian American and Pacific Islander descendants in the United States represent 48 countries that make up the continent of Asia and the Pacific Island groups of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, an estimated 24 million people identified as Asian and 1.6 million people identified as Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander.

Spring brings religious holidays for those of both Jewish and Christian faiths. The Jewish holiday Passover (Pesach), will be observed this year beginning at sundown on Friday, April 15 and ending at nightfall on Saturday, April 23. Those of Christian faith will observe Good Friday on Friday, April 15 and Easter on Sunday, April 17.

This year, the Holy month of Ramadan began the evening of April 1 in the U.S. and will be celebrated through the evening of May 1. Many within our UNC community will begin a spiritual reflection and fast daily from dawn to dusk. Islam, meaning “submission to the will of God”, is the second-largest religion globally, with roughly 1.9 billion Muslim followers. Followers of Islam are known as Muslims, which means “those who have surrendered”. The most concentrated areas of Islam are Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Algeria, and Sudan. Here in the United States, 7 million Muslims reside, and Mosques are represented in all 50 states.

National Arab American Heritage Month (NAAHM) takes place annually throughout the month of April. During the month, Arab American heritage, culture and achievements are celebrated and recognized.