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Juneteenth is not just a Black Holiday; it is an American Holiday.
Juneteenth is a time to reflect on our history and resolve to commemorate the strength and resolve of those who ended slavery
Americans are about to celebrate our latest national holiday – Juneteenth. A day that combines June and the 19th in its name. The day had many names, some call it "Emancipation Day”, “Freedom Day” or even the country's second American Independence Day.
On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free.” For those in Texas over 250,000 slaves would not be free until June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. On this day, Union troops liberated the slaves in Texas.
Juneteenth has become a day marking the end of slavery in the Confederacy, but it took the 13th Amendment to end slavery a reality nation-wide.
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US Representative Ashley (R-OH) introduced a constitutional amendment to end slavery everywhere in the United States on December 13, 1863. On January 11, 1864. Senator Henderson (R-MI) introduced a similar amendment in the Senate. The Republican-controlled Senate overwhelmingly approved the amendment with every Republican and two Democrats voting for the measure. The House, controlled by Democrats, took two votes before finally passing the legislation with every Republican voting in favor together with 14 Democrats.
Juneteenth is one of the most important days in our nation's history because it represents the words found in the United States Declaration of Independence, “that all men are created equal.”
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Juneteenth is not just a Black Holiday; it is an American Holiday. It represents the dream of freedom that our Nation stands for and that each of us is entitled to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
In the 2022 North Dakota Juneteenth Celebration Day Proclamation, Governor Burgum, calls on all Americans to recognize and celebrate Juneteenth as “an opportunity for all citizens to renew our shared commitment to equality, reconcile with our past and pursue progress for a stronger, more just democracy.”
Let each of us bring meaning to Governor Burgum’s words and make North Dakota a place where all citizens live in a climate of justice and equality for all regardless of race, color, creed.
On June 17, 2021, it was officially declared a federal holiday.