[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 82 (Monday, June 20, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1281-E1282]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              JUNETEENTH AFRICAN-AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 20, 2005

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate an African-
American day of celebration of freedom and justice. Juneteenth marks 
the end of slavery for African-American communities around the country. 
It is a day to embrace our freedom and equality, to reflect on the 
progress we have made as people, and to ponder our future role in this 
country.
  Despite the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1963, 
it took two and a half years--June 1965--for the liberation of all 
slaves in the United States to occur. For 140 years now, African-
Americans have celebrated the final attainment of their freedom on the 
19th of June. Tradition has it that it is the date when news of 
emancipation from slavery was finally delivered to slaves in Texas, the 
furthest point from Washington where slavery existed. The most accepted 
explanation is that the delay was caused by the primitive 
communications of the day, but some historians believe that the news of 
emancipation was deliberately denied to slaves.
  On this Juneteenth, African-Americans across the country will 
contemplate the importance of their freedom compared to their 
ancestors. They will reflect on their ability and rights to hold a job, 
to ride a bus, to own property, to live unencumbered by the government, 
and to make decisions about their own lives. Some will think about the 
obstacles that remain in their way of achieving the ``American dream.'' 
Others will ponder the future of their children and the opportunities 
ahead of them.
  I, for one, would think both about how far we have come as a country 
and how much further we need to go to erase racism and discrimination 
from our society. Once the slaves of plantation owners, African-
Americans now can freely move about the country, hold jobs and careers 
of importance, marry their chosen partner, provide for their families, 
raise their kids, and live in true freedom. African-Americans are 
graduating from college at increasing rates; receiving medical, 
professional, and doctoral degrees; working in major corporations and 
businesses; and making decisions about the future of this country. We 
have come a long way in our struggle for equality.

[[Page E1282]]

  Nonetheless, we have far to go. Less than half of African-American 
families own their own homes and they are twice as likely to be denied 
mortgages as whites. While the unemployment rate for whites is 5 
percent, the black unemployment rate is 10 percent. African-Americans 
are three times more likely to be arrested as whites and on average 
serve longer sentences than whites. Crime, drugs, and poverty are 
rampant in many minority communities. Many young African-Americans are 
disillusioned, frustrated, and feel powerless in their own country.
  The challenges African-Americans are facing today are rooted in the 
system of slavery. After emancipation, segregation, a system of 
continued oppression, was imposed which maintained the disparities 
between blacks and whites. It fueled the animosities, resentments, and 
discrimination that would separate and divide this country. We are 
still grappling with the effects of slavery, racism, and 
discrimination. We must do more to undo the wrongs of that evil 
institution.
  On this Juneteenth, let this great country come together to reflect 
on the role slavery has played in our system today.

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