Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise today in support of a resolution I am cosponsoring to commemorate Juneteenth Independence Day. In just 2 weeks, Americans will gather, of course, as we know, to celebrate the Fourth of July, but it is important to remember that when our Nation gained its independence, there were some 450,000 enslaved people in the 13 States. It wasn't until June 19, 1865, more than 2 years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which liberated a limited number of people, that enslaved people in the Southwestern States finally learned of their freedom. Months after the 13th amendment was ratified, Army MG Gordon Granger and Federal troops arrived in Galveston, TX, to enforce emancipation. Since then, Americans in Texas and throughout the United States have celebrated Juneteenth, which is the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery in our country. To celebrate that day, people from all backgrounds--not only African Americans and not only descendants of slaves but people of all backgrounds and ethnicities--will gather in special places all over Ohio. They will gather at Franklin Park in Columbus, our State capital. They will gather at ``The Coming of Emancipation'' memorial service in Oberlin, just a few miles from my house, the site of visits from Martin Luther King and the site of the Underground Railroad where those escaping slavery were housed on their way to Canada.…”