John,

On this day 158 years ago, slavery was ended in America. That's when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to declare that all people who had been enslaved were free.

The Emancipation Proclamation had been in effect for over two years. But the news of emancipation did not reach many corners of the deep south until much later. Legally, those enslaved in Galveston were already free; they just hadn't realized it yet.

So as we turn to the injustices all around us today, I invite you to rethink America's future. Our country was founded on the promise of freedom, even while millions of Americans were enslaved. That promise is always there, pushing us to build the more perfect union we know is possible.

Independence Day is in just a couple weeks. On June 19th and on July 4th, we celebrate our nation — which belongs to all of us — and the promises we have yet to realize.

Happy Juneteenth!

Hank Johnson
he/him