Friend,

On June 19, 1865, federal troops landed in Galveston, Texas, and read aloud from General Orders No. 3, announcing that “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”

With that announcement -- two months after the surrender of the Confederate Army, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and two hundred years after the first Black slaves were brought to the United States -- the promise of freedom that had for so long been held outside of our ancestors’ grasp finally arrived. Every year since, the Black community in Texas -- and throughout the United States -- has looked to June 19th as a day to mark the emancipation of not only the 250,000 slaves in Texas, but the full-bodied abolition of slavery in the United States.

For me, Juneteenth is both a celebration and a day of remembrance, a testament to the strength, persistence, and mutual care within the Black community. We take this day to celebrate with our loved ones, invoke long-beloved traditions, honor our ancestors, and remind ourselves both of our roots and how far we have come against immeasurable odds.

Nevertheless, Juneteenth also reminds us that the struggle to fulfill the promises of equality and freedom still continues. In the past year alone, we have witnessed a barrage of attacks on our fundamental rights from Republican lawmakers. And while we have seen great successes, we have also seen many hardships and setbacks on our path towards true equality and freedom.

And so today, as we gather with family and friends, let us celebrate, but let us also remember all of those no longer with us, all of those who fought for our freedoms, and all of those in generations still to come. We owe it to all of them -- and to ourselves -- to keep fighting to form a more perfect union, where freedom truly rings.

In service and hope,

Jamarr Brown
Co-Executive Director, Texas Democratic Party