Elijah Cummings: “For more than 100 years, African-Americans all over this country have been celebrating a very special day, Juneteenth.…”

“For more than 100 years, African-Americans all over this country have been celebrating a very special day, Juneteenth. Juneteenth, on June 19, commemorates a joyous day in 1865 when many of the slaves in the State of Texas first learned that they had been freed. Juneteenth is sometimes known as the African-American 4th of July. President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863. However, as most Americans know, the Emancipation Proclamation freed only those slaves in the States fighting against the Union in the Civil War. However, it was not until General Gordon Granger of the Union army arrived in Texas in 1865 that many of the slaves were informed that they had already been emancipated for over two years. As the news spread, African-Americans celebrated. Festive foods were prepared. Music was played. People danced and sang. Mr. Speaker, most importantly, they prayed. Then began the long journey down the road towards equality and justice, a journey we still find ourselves traveling on more than a century later.”