[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 10620-10621]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              IN RECOGNITION AND CELEBRATION OF JUNETEENTH

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. AL GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 19, 2014

  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to recognize 
the holiday of Juneteenth, or as it is also known Juneteenth 
Independence Day, Freedom Day, and Emancipation Day. Juneteenth 
commemorates a huge step toward the emancipation of African American 
slaves in Texas from the morally abhorrent institution of American 
slavery.
  On June 19, 1865, after the Union's victory in the Civil War, Major 
General Gordon Granger arrived with Union troops on the island of 
Galveston, Texas. The celebration of Juneteenth recognizes that day, 
when Major General Granger publicly read ``General Order No. 3,'' 
ostensibly freeing Texas slaves. Granger said, ``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 order ostensibly freed 
250,000 slaves in the former Confederate state of Texas, more than two 
years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation 
Proclamation.
  ``General Order No. 3'' was another marker on our nation's long road 
toward the full realization of life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
happiness for all our fellow citizens. We are still traveling down that 
road but because of the extraordinary courage and compassion of some of 
our greatest citizens, we have come further than many ever imagined.
  We traveled further down that road when in 1979, my friend, Texas 
State Representative Al Edwards introduced the bill that officially 
made Juneteenth a state holiday in Texas. In 1996, the House of 
Representatives and the Senate officially recognized June 19th as 
``Juneteenth Independence Day.'' As of today, 43 states observe 
Juneteenth.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, Juneteenth remains the oldest known 
celebration of slavery's emasculation in the U.S. On this Juneteenth, I 
encourage all my colleagues to join with me in recognizing the 
historical significance of this holiday, which celebrates a huge step 
toward the extension of the American Dream to African Americans and 
encourages multicultural respect for all.

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