June 18, 2021

Dear Friend,

This week I proudly voted to make Juneteenth a national holiday, commemorating June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston to deliver the news that enslaved people were declared free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. While Juneteenth has long been a Texas holiday, I was glad to see an overwhelming majority of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate come together to recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday.

I was honored to join President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House for the signing of this historic bill into law. None of this would have been possible without Opal Lee, a North Texan who led the decades long charge to make Juneteenth a national holiday. It was a privilege to stand alongside Ms. Lee and my Texas colleagues at the White House signing ceremony. 

Rep. Colin Allred with Texas civil rights icon Opal Lee and Texas Representatives Marc Veasey and Sheila Jackson Lee at the White House Juneteenth signing ceremony.

The declaration of Juneteenth as a national holiday is an important milestone in our nation’s fight to reaffirm that every person is created equal. The overwhelming support for its passage by both Republicans and Democrats is a reflection of the important work we’ve been doing as a nation to acknowledge the horrors of slavery and the systemic racism that persists today as a result, yet there is more work to do. I will continue to work to make sure the freedoms of every North Texan--including our right to vote-- are protected. On this first nationally recognized Juneteenth, let us reflect on our past, and come together to celebrate freedom for all.

Sincerely,

Colin Allred
Member of Congress