Steve Cohen: “today is June 19. June 19 is an important day in history. To African Americans, and to all Americans it should be, but…”

“today is June 19. June 19 is an important day in history. To African Americans, and to all Americans it should be, but to African Americans in particular, it is known as Juneteenth. Juneteenth is the first day I got involved in politics and learned about it. I didn't know much about it. I thought, why is Juneteenth a holiday to African Americans, and I learned. It's a holiday because that's the day in 1865 that the slaves in east Texas learned that they were free. The news of the Emancipation Proclamation did not get to Texas for 2 years, and that was the day that all slaves in America were free. The idea of our country having slavery as an institution was wrong. It was a crime against humanity. There is nothing more valuable to any of us than freedom, the opportunity to go where we want, to do what we want, and to associate with whom we want. That's what makes America great. Unfortunately, we had that institution, and later we had Jim Crow for 100 years. That's why I have introduced H. Res. 194 to apologize for slavery and Jim Crow, a crime against humanity that this government and this House permitted and allowed to occur. We must apologize for our errors.”