Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the gentlewoman for her distinguished presentation. I will take a moment, as other Members are on the floor, so…”

“I thank the gentlewoman for her distinguished presentation. I will take a moment, as other Members are on the floor, so I can at least set the framework of this evening of which she has done so ably. I think the cornerstone of the chairwoman's remarks is that we have been building on Juneteenth, as members of the Congressional Black Caucus, for all of our tenure in Congress. We have done it by the myriad of legislative initiatives that continue to build and repair what was generated from the 246 years of slavery. Let me, first of all, read into the Record that order of General Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865, on the shores of Galveston, Texas: ``The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The Freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.'' Most people have not heard the entire order. Union soldiers, up to 200,000, fought in the Civil War and died. Union soldiers were killed by Confederate soldiers.…”