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John:

156 years after troops rode into Galveston, Texas bearing a message of freedom, Juneteenth is finally being celebrated as a national holiday. In many ways, the long road towards national recognition of Juneteenth reflects the experience of so many Black people in this country: excellence and achievement in spite of a system designed to keep people quiet.

This perseverance can be seen through the underground railroad and the remarkable achievements of Harriet Tubman, the class of Black elected officials who served this country immediately after the Civil War and before the scourges of Jim Crow, the often untold and untaught scientists whose discoveries and inventions keep our country running, the courage and convictions of the civil rights activists in the 60s, the hundreds of thousands of people who took to the streets last summer to demand justice and fight for Black lives, and most importantly, every single moment of Black joy that persisted even in the darkest moments of our history. Juneteenth is a joyous day because of all of those who came before us.

Even today, on the first Federally recognized Juneteenth, Republicans are hard at work with a slew of voter suppression bills across the country designed to keep Black and brown people from voting. But rest assured: we will fight back against voter suppression with everything we have. The California Democratic Party emphatically supports strong Federal action to protect the vote and stop the Republican assault on our democracy. It is time to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.

And to those celebrating their first Juneteenth this year, here are some suggestions: attend a Juneteenth event in your area, read a book by a Black author, take in a movie, shop at Black owned businesses and eat at your favorite Black restaurants. Then, take some time to talk with your loved ones and neighbors about how far we’ve come and how far we have yet to go, and finally, commit to organizing for Black candidates up and down the ballot and protecting the right to vote nationwide.

Happy Juneteenth. We need your voice and participation as we continue to fight for freedom.

In Solidarity,
Taisha Brown, Chair, CADEM Black Caucus
Rusty Hicks, Chair
April Verrett, Controller
Betty Yee, Vice Chair
David Campos, Vice Chair
Melahat Rafiei, Secretary
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