PROCLAMATION IN SUPPORT OF JUNETEENTH, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2024
WHEREAS, the first enslaved Africans were brought as captives to what is now the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1619 where they were bought and sold as slave labor for 250 years of exploitation and suffering unspeakable acts of violence; and
WHEREAS, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, declaring “that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforward shall be free”; and
WHEREAS, the Emancipation Proclamation was the vehicle used to pass the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishing slavery in this nation on January 31, 1865; and
WHEREAS, on June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, announcing General Order Number 3 which ended both the Civil War and slavery; and
WHEREAS, June 19th has become a symbolic date, representing the freedom of African Americans and is recognized by 47 states and the District of Columbia, with Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania recognizing it as an official paid holiday for state employees, and Opal Lee, an activist from Marshall Texas, is now known as the grandmother of Juneteenth; and
WHEREAS, our nation is facing a new reckoning as the legacy of sharecropping, Jim Crow, redlining and police violence against Black Bodies continues to pervade and permeate our society, institutions, and systems of law; and
WHEREAS, although the 13th Amendment provided for freedom, it also laid the groundwork for mass incarceration within the African American community by stating “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction”; and
WHEREAS, If Black Lives Matter, the Democratic Party of Contra Costa Party must acknowledge the impact that this history of racism has had in shaping and continuing to shape our society, institutions, and systems of laws, fostering many of the current-day disparities in education, health care, housing, and employment.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County hereby recognizes Wednesday, June 19, 2024, as Juneteenth to acknowledge the historical significance of the day. The Democratic Party of Contra Costa County also commits to working toward the dismantling of institutionalized racism and will support the efforts of California lawmakers who are attempting to establish reparations for Black descendants of enslaved people in our state.
Approved by the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County, May 16, 2024