[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 105 (Wednesday, June 16, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4562-S4563]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Juneteenth

  Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Maryland. I rise 
today in gratitude because last night the Senate put us one step 
forward to finally making Juneteenth a Federal holiday.
  Juneteenth is our Nation's oldest celebration of emancipation, and it 
should have been established as a Federal holiday long ago. So I am 
glad that yesterday the Senate passed our bill, with Senator Markey and 
Senator Booker, the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, by 
unanimous consent.
  The end of slavery in this country is a central milestone in our 
history, and Juneteenth should be commemorated nationwide as a day of 
celebration and reflection and rededication to the cause of racial 
justice in this country.
  I am forever grateful to the generations of activists who made this 
possible, and, in particular, I want to thank Ms. Opal Lee, who at 89 
years old walked halfway across this country to rise in support of 
Juneteenth as a Federal holiday.
  Yesterday, I had the opportunity to call Ms. Lee, now in her 
nineties, after this bill cleared the Senate, and I wish you could have 
heard the sound of joy in her voice when I told her the good news. This 
is a memory that I know I am going to treasure for the rest of my life.
  So to Ms. Lee, if you are listening here today, I want to tell you 
that I have been honored to support your moral cause here in the 
Senate, and I hope to celebrate Juneteenth as an official Federal 
holiday with you soon.
  I also want to thank my colleagues, especially Senator Markey and 
Senators Booker and Warnock, for their

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leadership on these efforts, as well as Senator Cornyn and 
Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, for their work to get this over the 
finish line. When it passed last night, we had over 60 bipartisan 
cosponsors, and I am grateful to all of them and all of you for your 
support.
  So commemorating Juneteenth as a Federal holiday is an encouraging 
and meaningful step, but we have so much farther to go on the path 
toward justice. Let's use this victory to build momentum for the 
systemic change that we need--protecting voting rights and safeguarding 
our democracy, passing meaningful policing and criminal justice reform, 
pursuing economic and environmental justice, and working toward a more 
just and equitable world.
  There will be plenty of times when this path seems impossibly long 
because the scale of the injustice is overwhelming. But when this 
happens, I will be thinking of Ms. Opal Lee, of her long walk to 
Washington, DC, and the joy in her voice when she heard the news that 
the Senate had taken one more step toward her dream of Juneteenth. May 
we all draw inspiration and strength from her example.
  I am proud to walk this path with you, Ms. Lee, and with all of you. 
Let's keep this going.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from West Virginia