Tina Smith: “Usher wrote: The liberation Juneteenth commemorates is cause for celebration, but it also reminds us of how equality can…”

“Usher wrote: The liberation Juneteenth commemorates is cause for celebration, but it also reminds us of how equality can be delayed. On June 19, 1865, on the shores of Galveston, Tex., Union Gen. Gordon Granger arrived by boat to announce to enslaved African Americans that the Civil War had ended and they were now free. While President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was issued two and a half years prior, and the Civil War had ended in April of that year, it wasn't until June 19, 1865, that almost all of our ancestors were free. We should honor their lives and celebrate that day of freedom forever. Usher continues: Recognizing Juneteenth as a national holiday would be a small gesture compared to the greater social needs of black people in America. But it can remind us of our journey toward freedom, and the work America still has to do. We could observe it, as many black Americans already do, by celebrating both our first step toward freedom as black people in America and also the many contributions to this land. So thank you to my colleague from Texas. I am glad to stand with him in making Juneteenth a Federal holiday. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Young). The Senator from Texas.”