Val Demings: “As you know, our Nation was created with the highest ideals and values. Our new Nation was set aside to be a beacon of…”

“As you know, our Nation was created with the highest ideals and values. Our new Nation was set aside to be a beacon of hope where we could build our hopes and dreams and calm our fears. We are known as the home of the brave and land of the free. Yes, the history is clear, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, America demonstrated its ability to rise to its values. But America's history, as we all know, is complicated. For it took 2 years, from January 1 of 1863 to June 19 of 1865, for the last group of enslaved Americans to receive official word that they were indeed free. But we know today, Madam Speaker, that our work is not yet done. We are still a work in progress. We the people, in order to form a more perfect union, we are a work in progress. Let us celebrate Juneteenth, as we should. But celebrating freedom must be more than just a special day. It must be a celebration of who as a Nation we say we are; one who says we believe in justice for all. Yes, America celebrates being free, celebrates our freedom from physical bondage, but we must also celebrate freedom from discrimination. We must also celebrate freedom from racism. We must also celebrate freedom from poverty. We must also celebrate freedom from injustice. And we must also celebrate freedom from complacency. Mrs. Coretta Scott King said this: ``Struggle is a never ending process.…”