Some quick history:

• Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862.

• It said that all enslaved people in Confederate states were to be freed as of January 1, 1863.

• But it was not until over two years later that Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865.

• And it was another two months before Union troops informed the last remaining slaves (in Texas) that they were free — on June 19, 1865.

Since then, Juneteenth (that’s June plus nineteenth) has been a day to reflect on not just the history of slavery but also its ongoing effects and the work we still have to do together to bring about racial justice.

Yesterday — with legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden just last week — the United States officially observed Juneteenth as a federal holiday for the first time.

The historic legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday was introduced by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas.

Tell Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee:

Thank you for leading the way to make Juneteenth a federal holiday!

Add your name.

Thanks for taking action.

For progress,

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen
 
 
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