Juneteenth Message from the Mayor
Posted on: June 19, 2021 - 9:00am
Dear Neighbors:
This Saturday, we observe Juneteenth, sometimes known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, and Black Independence Day. We observe Juneteenth to recognize the symbolic end of slavery in all corners of the United States, honor the sacrifices made for emancipation and recommit ourselves to the work of fulfilling our country’s promise of liberty & justice for all.
On June 19, 1865, the Emancipation Proclamation was first announced to enslaved Black Americans in Texas by Major General Gordon Granger. This was two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation became the official policy of the United States on January 1, 1863 and more than two months after the main army of the secessionists surrendered to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox.
Slavery and white supremacy have a long history on our continent, going back to before our country’s founding. Over time, certain economic classes found the enslavement of other humans to be so profitable, they would rather destroy the United States of America than risk the possibility of their cruel system being curtailed. The destruction of slavery in the American Civil War was the work of many gallant men and woman, some who fought on the battlefield, others who waged a lonely fight in preceding years in the abolitionist movement.
In the years following the Juneteenth announcement, many of the perpetrators of the failed attempt at secession to preserve slavery used violence and chicanery return to power at various levels of government. A regime of racial terror to subjugate nominally free citizens spread across much of the country. After victory in the Civil War, the bloodiest conflict in our history, many of the hard won achievements of brave Americans--black & white and in uniform & out--were lost over the decades as our communities of color endured the polar night of disenfranchisement and segregation.
It would be another century before the civil rights movement composed of courageous citizens drove our federal government to enact a raft of legislation from the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Despite these historic achievements, which have improved the lives of many millions of Americans, discrimination affects the lives of many of our fellow citizens.
The stubborn persistence of inequality is tragedy and waste. When our neighbors are prevented from achieving their full potential, we are all impoverished.
Juneteenth is a celebration of liberation. We should draw inspiration and pride from the heroism of those that struck a blow for freedom with the destruction of slavery and put us on the path towards a just society. Juneteenth is also a reminder that words alone cannot deliver on the promises of freedom and equal justice for all and that although our nation has come a long way from our history of slavery and segregation, our work remains unfinished.
Victories do not stay won--we must continue with the work of generations.
Sincerely,
Brian Pugh