Happy Juneteenth and Father’s Day!
In A Proclamation on Juneteenth Day of Observance from 2021, the White House stated the following:
“On June 19, 1865 — nearly nine decades after our Nation’s founding, and more than 2 years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation — enslaved Americans in Galveston, Texas, finally received word that they were free from bondage. As those who were formerly enslaved were recognized for the first time as citizens, Black Americans came to commemorate Juneteenth with celebrations across the country, building new lives and a new tradition that we honor today. In its celebration of freedom, Juneteenth is a day that should be recognized by all Americans. And that is why I am proud to have consecrated Juneteenth as our newest national holiday.”
It has been one year since the Biden-Harris Administration signed a bill establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday and 157 years since the first Juneteenth was celebrated. Juneteenth National Independence Day is the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983. This was a historic moment, and we applaud them. We also know how much work there is to do in our state and in the rest of the country.
On Juneteenth, we commemorate not only the beginning of a new chapter of liberation & promise for Black Americans, but also reflect on the hardship placed upon Black Americans in the pursuit of full citizenship & opportunity due to us all.
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