Hi team,

I had the honor of joining Black leaders in our community for our annual Juneteenth parade in celebration of Black Independence Day.

It was on this solemn day in 1865 that Union troops reached Galveston, Texas, where the last enslaved African Americans finally learned they were free — more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

This marked the official end of slavery in the United States and today it serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of freedom, opportunity, and independence for all.

At this moment in our history, as we are witnessing a direct attack on our fundamental civil rights and freedoms from a group of racist extremists who want to destroy our democracy, we must overcome their attacks and keep fighting for a more just and equal world. I am committed to passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and defending the right to vote for all Americans.

As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

— James Walkinshaw