[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 84 (Wednesday, June 22, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S7063]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         REMEMBERING JUNETEENTH

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this June 19th marked the 140th anniversary 
of Juneteenth, the day our Nation finally ended the immoral and heinous 
institution of slavery.
  On June 19th, 1865, three years after President Lincoln issued his 
Emancipation Proclamation, a quarter million slaves living in Texas 
learned that they were free from Union General Gordon Granger.
  He told the people of Texas:

       [T]hat in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive 
     of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an 
     absolute equality of rights and rights of property between 
     former masters and slaves, the connection heretofore existing 
     between them becomes that between employer and free laborer.

  Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, marked an end to a sad chapter 
in our Nation's history but it did not mark the end of racial prejudice 
in the United States.
  The horrors of Jim Crowe, lynching, and rampant discrimination still 
awaited those freed on Juneteenth. It would take 100 years almost to 
the day until Congress would finally put an end to political 
discrimination against African-Americans by passing the historic 1965 
Voting Rights Act and completing the legislative program of the civil 
rights movement.
  Juneteenth marked the end of the struggle against slavery and the 
beginning of the long struggle for civil rights.
  For all Americans Juneteenth is a time to celebrate freedom: to 
reflect on it with picnics, concerts, festivals, seminars, and 
celebrations. It is a time of joy and a time to remember the 
achievements of African-Americans around our Nation.
  Juneteenth should also be a time to celebrate and remember the men 
and women who brought us freedom and equality: The brave Union soldiers 
who fought ``to make men free;'' the civil rights pioneers who began a 
struggle they would not see to its end; and the great, historic 
generation of civil rights leaders who helped America ``live out the 
true meaning of its creed'' and brought legal equality to all 
Americans.
  In commemoration of Juneteenth, I urge my colleagues to reflect on 
our freedom, acknowledge the legacy of slavery, and celebrate the 
achievements of the civil rights movement.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, on Saturday, June 18, 2005, Americans 
honored the 140th anniversary of Juneteenth, the oldest known 
celebration commemorating the abolition of slavery in the United 
States. This day celebrates African American freedom and gives us a 
chance to reflect upon our Nation's history, our present, and our hope 
for the future.
  On June 19, 1865, MG Gordon Granger arrived in Texas to proclaim 
emancipation to Texas slaves. Though President Lincoln had delivered 
his Emancipation Proclamation more than 2 years earlier, this date 
marks the first time slaves in Texas and other surrounding States 
learned of their liberation. General Granger stated, ``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 rights and rights of property between former 
masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them 
becomes that between employer and free laborer.'' The term 
``Juneteenth'' is derived from a combination of the words ``June'' and 
``nineteenth'', referring to the official date of the Texas 
announcement, although the holiday is now celebrated on the third 
Saturday of June.
  Following their emancipation, African Americans continued to confront 
immense hardships in the face of economic, social, and political 
disfranchisement imposed by a brutally repressive social system. In 
States such as Arkansas, the Jim Crow order relied on institutionalized 
racism to maintain the social dominance of Whites and stifle the 
opportunity that Blacks desired and deserved. We recently revisited the 
horrors of mob violence, another tool in the repression of Blacks, as 
the Senate officially apologized for never taking Federal action 
against lynching over the decades of its practice.
  Due to the prolonged struggle for freedom and equality for Black 
Americans, we recognize Juneteenth as both a victory over slavery and 
as a starting point in the ongoing fight for justice in America. Thanks 
to the courage and dedication of the participants in the civil rights 
movement, our Nation has progressed by leaps and bounds from the days 
of sharecropping, segregated classrooms, Ku Klux Klan violence, and 
lynchings. However, we must remain vigilant as we strive to ensure that 
every American is provided an equal opportunity to succeed now and in 
the future.
  These were the ideas that people in Arkansas and all across our 
country reflected upon as they celebrated Juneteenth on Saturday. I am 
humbled as I reflect upon Juneteenth and pay tribute to the countless 
contributions and advancements African Americans have made in our 
country throughout history. Furthermore, I encourage all Americans to 
join me in remembering the struggles for dignity and racial equality in 
America and to recommit to fighting for equality in our schools, 
workplaces and in our communities. And in doing so, let us strive for 
the strength of will and courage that were exemplified by Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr., as he shared this simple truth with the world: 
``Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.''

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