During Black History Month, we not only celebrate Black history, culture, and all the many contributions to our North Jersey community, but we also continue our work toward justice and equity for all. This is both a time to celebrate the countless contributions Black Americans have made to the United States, and a time to recognize and reflect on the need to advance racial equality.
The last enslaved individuals in the former Confederacy became free on June 19th, 1865, when Union army soldiers delivered news to Galveston, Texas, of the Emancipation Proclamation that President Abraham Lincoln had declared more than two years prior. Part of the American story since that point has been a long, painful history of violence and discrimination against African American men and women, and the achievement of freedom and equality.
We must continue to protect our hard-fought freedoms, including the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, which abolished slavery, guarantee equal protections under the law, and prohibit racial discrimination at the voting booth. As a former senior advisor to the Chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and as your Congressman, I will always work hard to defend the civil rights of all Americans. The fight for justice and equality must continue.
As American citizens, we enjoy extraordinary freedoms, making this the greatest country in the world. There is still much work to do to perfect our union, and I am inspired by the collective movement working to end bigotry and hatred. We must always remember that our diversity is our greatest strength.
Yours,
Josh Gottheimer
U.S. Congressman
%20(1).png "Rep. Josh Gottheimer banner")
