Friend,

As Juneteenth arrives, Courage California is taking this moment to commemorate this important moment in history. Though President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, it wasn't until June 19th, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the law and ensure freedom for all enslaved people.

California officially recognized Juneteenth as a holiday in 2003 -- eighteen years before it would become a federal holiday. And Juneteenth is an important occasion to celebrate the progress we've made fighting systemic racism and discrimination against Black Californians.

This day also serves as a time for reflection on the ongoing fight for racial equality and justice. Black Americans have never seen reparations for their suffering under slavery nationally, and California is no different.

And we must especially recognize that in 2024, legal slavery still exists.

The California constitution permits indentured servitude, and 65% of incarcerated people -- 28% who are Black despite being only 6% of the state's population -- are forced to work for little to no wage. Imprisoned Californians pave roads, work food service, and even fight fires for 12 to 40 cents an hour. And businesses pocket $1 billion a year on labor from incarcerated people.

In 2024, we have several opportunities to correct these societal injustices. California’s first-in-the-nation Reparations Task Force has made ACA 8, the End Slavery in California Act, its top legislative priority. Voters could have the power to end indentured servitude in California in November, but ACA 8 has to pass with two-thirds of the vote in the Assembly and the Senate first.

The Senate has also passed three bills -- SB 1050, SB 1331, and SB 1403 -- from the Reparations Task Force that would begin building the infrastructure needed to help restore property and address reparations claims, and now the Assembly will vote on them.

Juneteenth is a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and the ongoing pursuit of freedom, and we can honor those goals by supporting Black-owned businesses, attending Juneteenth festivities, and calling our representatives to ask them to pass ACA 8 and the reparations bills package.

Yours in the fight for a more just and inclusive California for everyone,

–Irene, for the whole Courage team