Hello John,

Juneteenth marks the day some of the last enslaved Americans received word of emancipation - months after the Union won the Civil War and more than two years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

After Major General Gordon Granger marched into Galveston, Texas, 157 years ago today to inform the last Confederate hold-outs that the War was over, slavery came to an end in our country.

Juneteenth is a long-overdue recognition of Black Americans’ contributions to this country. But we have more work left to do to reckon with our history.

Although slavery came to an end, our nation is still working to end its legacy of inequality, racism, and injustice. Right now, new voter suppression legislation across the country specifically targets Black communities. Our government was designed to be by and for the people, and our leaders have a duty to ensure that every one of us is able to participate in it.

John, until we confront those evils and take concrete steps to solve them, including by passing legislation securing voting rights, we cannot claim to be a nation where all of us are truly free.

We’ve come a long way - that Juneteenth is celebrated as a federal holiday just goes to show the strides we’ve made in the struggle for equality and justice. Today is a reminder that even when change seems impossible, it can happen when enough of us join together to create it. This can always be a more perfect union.

- Deb

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