Juneteenth National Independence Day Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. WEBER of Texas. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
Madam Speaker, today, the House moves to establish June 19 as the Juneteenth National Independence Day, a national holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.
June 19 marks the day Union troops arrived in my district in Galveston, Texas--I wasn't alive back then, let me get that out there-- in the heart of what is now the 14th Congressional District of Texas, the Gulf Coast of Texas. Those troops arrived to announce and enforce the Emancipation Proclamation.
On that day, General Gordon Granger delivered the news of President Abraham Lincoln's proclamation, which had abolished slavery more than 2 years before, on January 1, 1863. That was his intent. It was the law, and it should have been done. But we had a ways to go, didn't we, to abolish slavery? We really did.
The abolition of slavery was a key milestone toward fulfilling our Founders' promise, underwritten by the self-evident truths of natural law, that all humans are created equal and should enjoy the same protections under the law.
Ingrained in Texas culture, my great Texas, this special day has already been recognized, which the chairwoman eloquently spoke about, in 47 of the 50 States here in the United States, and it is long overdue to be recognized as a Federal holiday. I have been working on it myself for several years with my friends, Sheila Jackson Lee and John Cornyn, and others.
This year's celebration should be rooted in the works of repair we have done, still need to do, and will continue to do, Lord willing, as a country that has endured periods of racial tension, which have tried to divide our people. Let it not be so.
As President Abraham Lincoln notably quoted from the Bible, he said: ``A house divided against itself cannot stand.'' Our country can and should--and, Lord, I will say ``will''--unite beyond the divisions that we have faced. And this is a long way toward that.
The forces that try to divide our Nation will not prevail as we stand firm in our identity as Americans. We are a people refined through the trials of fire and made stronger and stronger than ever.
Juneteenth reminds us of the freedom so bravely defended by many, many Americans, and it encourages us to remain steadfast in the good fight against division. It also reminds us we have a ways to go.
``A house divided cannot stand.'' That is absolutely true. But a house that is united is unshakeable.
Mr. Speaker, this is a step toward that unification.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Jackson Lee), the author of the companion to the Senate bill.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New York for her courtesies.
Mr. Speaker, it has been a long journey. It has not been yesterday, the day before, or last month, or a few years before. One could argue that it has been 12 years on this floor of the House.
So many people have been involved: Danny Davis; my colleagues in the United States Senate, Senator Cornyn and Senator Markey; Barbara- Rose Collins, some 25 years ago with a resolution; others unnamed; and organizations across the Nation and some international.
It has been a long journey. It has not been an easy journey. When we stand here today, we should be reminded of the fact that there were people who continued to experience the whips of a whip for 2 more years, even as Abraham Lincoln stood in the shining sun in the aftermath of Gettysburg to unite the Union and proclaim the slaves free in 1863.
Just a few years ago, I had the teary privilege of being, at midnight, in the National Archives, looking at that document. Then, of course, it took 2 years for General Granger to get to Texas. But in that 2 years, we realize that tragedy continued and brutality continued, even into the 20th century.
I salute the miraculous coming together today of the House leadership, the Speaker, Leader Hoyer, Whip Clyburn, Chairman Jeffries, and others who brought this to the floor through a rule, Chairman McGovern, and then a debate. Then, of course, here we are today. It is a long journey, but here we are.
I am grateful, as I said earlier, that racial divide has fallen out of the sky, and we are crushing it to the Earth for this day, for the Juneteenth holiday.
H.R. 1320 was a bipartisan bill with over 166 sponsors, as well as now S. 475. We are delighted to note that the President will sign this bill.
When the words of General Granger were said--the people of Texas and other places are informed that in accordance with the proclamation from the executive, all slaves are free--then, in the same year, the 13th Amendment was passed.
This bill and this day are about freedom. At Gettysburg, that is what President Lincoln said in 1863, that this Nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom.
Why can't we continue on this pathway as we push the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, as we come together on the Voting Rights Act, as we realize that there is another path for America to take, that my freedom is your freedom and your freedom is my freedom?
Yes, slaves suffered continuously. Even in the 20th century, they were hung. Yet, we have a time today, miraculously, to be able to debate and vote on the floor of the House. Diverse persons can stand and join this.
So, I offer to my colleagues: Be reminded that this has been a long journey. There have been mountains and valleys, but we stand here today, free to vote for the Juneteenth National Independence Day, a Federal holiday for America. Freedom is now.
Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, the Chair of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, and the principal sponsor in the House of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, I rise in strong and enthusiastic support of S. 475, the Senate companion to the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act I introduced on February 25, 2021, which establishes June 19 as a federal holiday.
I applaud the U.S. Senate for passing S. 475, Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, companion legislation to H.R. 1320, which I introduced to make Juneteenth a federal holiday to commemorate the end of chattel slavery, America's Original Sin, and to celebrate the perseverance that has been the hallmark of the African American struggle for equality.
I thank Senator Markey of Massachusetts for contacting my office with his request to introduce the Senate companion to H.R. 1320 for this Congress, and to my senior senator, Senator John Cornyn of Texas for his steadfast support of the Juneteenth holiday over the years, and others who spearheaded this effort in the Senate, and Senate Majority Leader Schumer for his support and for using his legislative skills to ensure the bill was voted on and passed.
Mr. Speaker, the process that has brought us to this day has been bipartisan, bicameral, cooperative, and constructive beginning with my collaboration in the 116th Congress with former Senator Doug Jones of Alabama and Senator Cornyn of Texas to coordinate the introduction and cultivate the necessary support for the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.
That partnership has continued through the 117th Congress with the addition of Senator Markey of Massachusetts as the lead Democratic sponsor in the Senate.
The bipartisan H.R. 1320, the House version of S. 475, is sponsored by 166 Members from all regions of the country, including two of my Republican colleagues from Texas, Congressman Van Taylor and Congressman Randy Weber.
Mr. Speaker, now it is time for the House of Representatives to act swiftly and bring to the floor, vote on, pass the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, and send it to the desk of President Biden for signature.
With the President's signature, the federal government will join 47 states in recognizing as a holiday Juneteenth, the day that has been celebrated by African Americans for 156 years and has been called rightly as 'America's second Independence Day.'
Let me extend on behalf of all of us who have labored to pass this important legislation our deep appreciation to the House leadership, particularly Majority Leader Hoyer, for their support which paved the way for the House last year to pass by unanimous consent H. Res. 1001, the resolution I introduced recognizing Juneteenth Independence Day.
As I have said many times, Juneteenth is as significant to African Americans as July 4 is to all Americans because on that day, June 19, 155 years ago, General Gordon Granger, the Commanding Officer of the District of Texas, rode into Galveston, Texas, and announced the freedom of the last American slaves; belatedly freeing 250,000 slaves in Texas nearly two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
When General Granger read these words of General Order No. 3 it set off joyous celebrations of the freedmen and women of Texas:
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 therefore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.
Juneteenth thus made real to the last persons living under the system of chattel slavery, of human bondage, the prophetic words of President Abraham Lincoln delivered November 19, 1863, at Gettysburg `that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.'
Juneteenth was first celebrated in the Texas state capital in 1867 under the direction of the Freedmen's Bureau and remains the oldest known celebration of slavery's demise, commemorating freedom while acknowledging the sacrifices and contributions made by courageous African Americans towards making our great Nation the more conscious and accepting country that it has become.
As the Nation prepares to celebrate July 4th, our Nation's independence day, it is a time to reflect on the accomplishments of our Nation and its people.
The celebration of Juneteenth followed the most devastating conflict in our country's history, in the aftermath of a civil war that pitted brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor and threatened to tear the fabric of our union apart forever that America truly became the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Juneteenth honors the end of the 400 years of suffering African Americans endured under slavery and celebrates the perseverance that has been the hallmark of the African American experience in the struggle for equality.
But as the poet Langston Hughes reminds us in his famous poem, ``Mother to Son,'' life in America for African Americans ``ain't been no crystal stair.''
The post-bellum period in America was marked by violence and terrorism against African Americans as they sought to make real the promises of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
General Granger's reading of General Order No. 3 ended the remaining vestiges of the system of chattel slavery, a form of perpetual human bondage that held generations of Africans in captivity in the United States for 248 years and opened a new chapter in American history.
Recognizing the importance of this date, former slaves coined the word ``Juneteenth'' to celebrate the occasion, the first of which occurred in the Texas state capital in 1867 under the direction of the Freedmen's Bureau.
Juneteenth was and is a living symbol of freedom for people who did not have it.
Juneteenth remains the oldest known celebration of America's freedom from slavery.
It commemorates freedom while acknowledging the sacrifices and contributions made by courageous African Americans in the quest to make our lives more perfect.
The celebration of Juneteenth followed the most devastating conflict in our country's history, in the aftermath of a civil war that pitted brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor and threatened to tear the fabric of our union apart forever that America truly became the land of the free and the home of the brave.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, ``Freedom is never free,'' and African American labor leader A. Phillip Randolph often said ``Freedom is never given. It is won.''
Truer words were never spoken.
We should all recognize the power and the ironic truth of those statements, and we should pause to remember the enormous price paid by all Americans in our country's quest to realize its promise.
In recent years, a number of National Juneteenth Organizations have arisen to take their place alongside older organizations--all with the mission to promote and cultivate knowledge and appreciation of African American history and culture.
I am reminded that the first legislation introduced in Congress recognizing Juneteenth occurred a quarter century ago, in 1996, when H.J. Res. 195 was introduced by Congresswoman Barbara Rose Collins of Michigan, and I have introduced similar legislation annually since the 109th Congress.
So it has been a long road we have travelled to get to this day, even longer that the 15-year journey taken to pass the bill making the Birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a national holiday.
Juneteenth celebrates African American freedom, and in so doing celebrates America's history and promise, while encouraging self- development and respect for all cultures.
But it must always remain a reminder to us all that liberty and freedom are precious birthrights of all Americans, which must be jealously guarded and preserved for future generations.
In conclusion, I wish to take a moment to salute two of the unsung heroes who helped bring us to this day: the late Texas State Representative Al Edwards and nonagenarian Opal Lee, known affectionately as the ``Grandmother of Juneteenth.''
In 1852, Frederick Douglass famously asked: ``What to the slave is the 4th of July?''
In 2021, we can reply that it is the beginning of the American Promise that would be fulfilled and made real for all Americans, including the descendants of slaves, on June 19, 1865, `Juneteenth Day.'
That is why we celebrate Juneteenth and that is why I urge all Members to join me in voting to pass S. 475, the ``Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.''
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