[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 26 (Monday, June 28, 2004)]
[Page 1123]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message on the Observance of Juneteenth, 2004

June 18, 2004

    I send greetings to those celebrating Juneteenth.
    On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger and his Union troops 
arrived in Galveston, Texas, bringing word of the Emancipation 
Proclamation which had been issued more than 2 years earlier. On hearing 
the news that ``all persons held as slaves'' in the rebellious States 
were ``thenceforward, and forever free,'' former slaves celebrated their 
new freedom.
    Today, African Americans in Texas and other parts of the country 
observe June 19, also known as Juneteenth, with cookouts, family 
gatherings, parades, and other community events. Juneteenth celebrates 
the truth that freedom is God's gift to every man and woman. This day 
also recognizes the progress America has made in ensuring that our 
Nation lives up to our founding principles of liberty, equality, and 
justice, and represents an occasion to reaffirm our commitment to these 
principles.
    Laura joins me in sending our best wishes.
                                                George W. Bush

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