Friend, this is the second year in which we've observed Juneteenth as a federal holiday. I'm incredibly proud of all the activists, like Opal Lee, who campaigned across the country to make Juneteenth a holiday, and lawmakers who helped move the needle to make Juneteenth a holiday.

When I reflect on this holiday, I am reminded of the saying “truth crushed to earth shall rise.” On Juneteenth, we observe the end of slavery in the United States -- when the people of Galveston, Texas were notified of their freedom a full two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Truth be told, slavery would persist in our own state of Delaware and in Kentucky until December 1865, when the 13th Amendment took on the force of law.

Today, as we recommit ourselves to continuing down the long road toward justice, we should all take time to remember those who came before us. Our ancestors who were packed into ships and brought against their will to a new continent; the people held as chattel who knew no life beyond a plantation; freedom fighters like Dr. King, my late friend John Lewis, and Delawarean Mary Ann Shadd Cary.

The best way to honor all of those who came before us is to pick up their mantle and continue to bend the long arc of the moral universe toward justice.

So today, I’m asking you to join me in recommitting to the fight for a more equitable world. Whether it’s joining your friends and neighbors to fix an injustice in your community, volunteering your time to educate yourself and the next generation, or simply acknowledging the residual effects of slavery in our day-to-day lives, anything can make a difference in our continued march toward freedom.

Thank you,

Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester

Lisa Blunt Rochester for Congress
PO BOX 9767
Wilmington, DE 19810
United States

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