Happy Juneteenth, friend!

Today, we celebrate freedom. Though the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, word didn’t get around to all the enslaved folks in Galveston, Texas until two years later – on June 19, 1865. The news sparked the period known as Reconstruction, and Black leaders sought political office in record numbers to secure equal protection under the law.

It’s important that we acknowledge those who paid the price for our freedom – because freedom isn’t free, and some stories don’t get told unless we insist on it. So as I reflect on this Juneteenth, I want to honor someone who made it possible for me to stand here today: Hiram Rhodes Revels.

Hiram Rhodes Revels wears a suit and is seated on an ornate chair in a black and white photo.

Hiram Rhodes Revels was the first Black man to serve in the U.S. Senate. His service began at the church as an African Methodist Episcopal preacher, then grew far beyond those walls. When a Senate seat opened in 1870, he ran for office, inspired by his belief that a Black candidate could deliver a tough blow to color line prejudice.

Sen. Revels spoke up for racial justice all across the South and supported the reinstatement of Black legislators right here in Georgia. His story is a reminder of what's possible when we protect the sacredness of our common humanity and love our neighbors as ourselves.

Like Sen. Revels, I made the leap from pastor to senator. As the senior pastor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s church, I stand on the shoulders of historic giants like Dr. King, Coretta Scott King, and Rep. John Lewis.

As Georgia’s first Black senator, I also stand on the shoulders of great men like Hiram Revels, whose courage forced the moral arc of this country to bend a bit closer toward liberty and justice for us all.

It's an arc that still has much further to bend, but I'm fighting each and every day in the Senate to carry Reverend Revels' work forward and make true equality a reality in our country.

Thank you, friend, for reflecting with me in honor of Juneteenth today – and for standing with me in the fight for justice, always.

– Rev. Raphael Warnock

Contribute: [link removed]



--------

This email was sent to [email protected].

To unsubscribe from this email list, please click here: [link removed]

For your reference, any donor history or identification in this message reflects what we have on file for the email address [[email protected]] to which this message was sent. If you have donated from another address or via another method, many thanks for supporting our historic campaign for Senate!

If you’d like to receive fewer emails, please click <a href="[link removed]">here</a>.

© 2022 | Paid for by Warnock for Georgia. Title and affiliation are provided for identification purposes only.

Warnock for Georgia
P.O. Box 52227
Atlanta, GA 30355
United States