[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 102 (Tuesday, June 19, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H5274-H5275]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        COMMEMORATING JUNETEENTH

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise to commemorate Juneteenth, 
as a Texan and one who acknowledges that it was my State, 153 years 
ago, June 19, 1865, where General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, 
Texas, and announced the freedom of the last American slaves, belatedly 
freeing 250,000 slaves in Texas nearly 2\1/2\ years after Abraham 
Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
  Having spent 2 days at the border, I know that there are 2,000 
children who have been separated from their families who are seeking 
freedom. I rise today in honor of Juneteenth because it was and is a 
living symbol of freedom for people who did not have it.
  Today, I introduced H. Res. 948, the annual congressional resolution 
commemorating Juneteenth Independence Day, which is cosponsored by more 
than 50 of my colleagues. Juneteenth remains the oldest known 
celebration of slavery's demise.
  Mr. Speaker, it is clear that we need to be able to honor the issue 
of freedom, so I conclude by saying that the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther 
King, Jr., once said, ``Freedom is never free,'' and African American 
labor leader A. Phillip Randolph often said, ``Freedom is never given; 
it is won.''
  We must win the freedom for these children, 2,000, who have been 
separated from their families.
  Mr. Speaker, 153 years ago, on June 19, 1865, General Gordon Granger 
rode into Galveston, Texas and announced the freedom of the last 
American slaves; belatedly freeing 250,000 slaves in Texas nearly two 
and a half years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation 
Proclamation.
  Juneteenth was first celebrated in the Texas state capital in 1867 
under the direction of the Freedmen's Bureau.
  Juneteenth was and is a living symbol of freedom for people who did 
not have it.
  Today, I introduced H. Res. 948, the annual congressional resolution 
commemorating Juneteenth Independence Day, which is co-sponsored by 
more than 50 of my colleagues.
  Juneteenth remains the oldest known celebration of slavery's demise.
  It commemorates freedom while acknowledging the sacrifices and 
contributions made by courageous African Americans towards making our 
great nation the more conscious and accepting country that it has 
become.
  It was only after that day in 1865 when General Granger rode into 
Galveston, Texas, on the heels of the most devastating conflict in our 
country's history, in the aftermath of a civil war that pitted brother 
against brother, neighbor against neighbor and threatened to tear the 
fabric of our union apart forever that America truly became the land of 
the free and the home of the brave.
  The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ``Freedom is never 
free,'' and African American labor leader A. Phillip Randolph often 
said ``Freedom is never given. It is won.''
  Truer words were never spoken.
  We should all recognize the power and the ironic truth of those 
statements and we should pause to remember the enormous price paid by 
all Americans in our country's quest to realize its promise.

[[Page H5275]]

  Juneteenth honors the end of the 400 years of suffering African 
Americans endured under slavery and celebrates the legacy of 
perseverance that has become the hallmark of the African American 
experience in the struggle for equality.
  In recent years, a number of National Juneteenth Organizations have 
arisen to take their place alongside older organizations--all with the 
mission to promote and cultivate knowledge and appreciation of African 
American history and culture.
  Juneteenth celebrates African American freedom while encouraging 
self-development and respect for all cultures.
  But it must always remain a reminder to us all that liberty and 
freedom are precious birthrights of all Americans which must be 
jealously guarded and preserved for future generations.
  As it takes on a more national and even global perspective, the 
events of 1865 in Texas are not forgotten, for all of the roots tie 
back to this fertile soil from which a national day of pride is 
growing.

                          ____________________