Michelle Bowman: “I rise with great excitement and joy in my heart that today Juneteenth will become a national holiday. 156 years after…”

“I rise with great excitement and joy in my heart that today Juneteenth will become a national holiday. 156 years after the end of slavery in this country, we will now, on an annual basis, reflect collectively and, hopefully, begin the process of truth and collective healing as a nation. But I ask us that we must not stop here. We must continue to go forward to fight for racial justice because in many parts of our country it still exists in the form of housing discrimination and segregation, lack of access to healthcare, and wealth inequality. It is so humbling to stand here as a Black man in America and take another step toward feeling whole in this country. But we must--we have to come together across party lines to do much more. ____________________”