Political Quotes

“I rise today in celebration of the 145th anniversary of Juneteenth, the oldest commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, TX, to inform the slaves that they were free. Although the Emancipation Proclamation took effect on January 1, 1863, it was 2 years later before the message reached slaves in Texas and the Union troops enforced the President's order. Eighty-nine years after America's Independence Day, Africans in America finally obtained their independence from slavery. Juneteenth is a day when all Americans should celebrate Black Americans' freedom and heritage. In 2008, Congress apologized for the injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow laws. The congressional resolution acknowledged that African Americans continue to suffer from the complex interplay between slavery and Jim Crow long after both systems were formally abolished. This suffering is both tangible and intangible, including the loss of human dignity, the frustration of careers and professional lives, and the long-term loss of income and opportunity. On Wednesday, Congress honored the African-American slaves who built the U.S. Capitol by dedicating plaques to their memory.”