Juneteenth National Independence Day Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. LANGEVIN. Madam Speaker, today I rise to recognize the importance of celebrating Juneteenth as a national holiday.

For a century after the last slaves were freed, Black Americans were denied the rights considered ``unalienable'' by the Constitution. Even after July 4, 1776, millions of enslaved people and their descendants would not experience independence for decades. Over the last 50 years, systemic racism has continued to hinder many who strive to live out the American Dream.

Despite the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, Black people would remain enslaved in parts of the Confederacy for nearly two and a half years. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, delivering news of the end of the Civil War and of slavery.

The message he conveyed that day was simple. General Order Number 3 declared that ``. . . all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property, between former masters and slaves . . .''

The following year, the newly liberated people of Texas began celebrating Juneteenth as a celebration of answered prayers and new opportunities.

This tradition slowly spread throughout the country, eventually becoming a holiday or day of observance in 49 states and the District of Columbia. My home state of Rhode Island has observed Juneteenth since 2012.

While Juneteenth has been widely celebrated among African American communities since the end of the Civil War, the prominence of the holiday has grown significantly in recent years.

I am proud to have supported the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act when it passed in Congress and was signed into law last week. It is my hope that June 19th will serve as a day of reflection and an annual call to recommit ourselves to the American ideals of freedom and equality.

For far too long, our society has denied the promise of these ideals to many Americans. From the Jim Crow era until today, Black Americans have been the target of racism and bigotry, treated as second class citizens, denied opportunity, and subjected to countless violent attacks by racist mobs and individuals.

Over the last year, the United States has experienced the most intensive reckoning with slavery and its legacy since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

The Black Lives Matter movement and nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd have cast a light on the disparate outcomes that persist for Black people in education, employment, interactions with the police, and numerous other aspects of everyday life.

These disparities contribute to--and are influenced by--the intergenerational racial wealth gap. Recent studies show that Black children face significantly higher rates of downward economic mobility and lower rates of upward mobility compared to white children.

For instance, a Black child born into a high-income family is as likely to end up in the bottom 20 percent of earners as an adult as they are to remain in top 20 percent. In contrast, a white child born to parents with the same income is five times more likely to remain in the top income quintile as they are to fall to the bottom of the income distribution.

The systemic racism ingrained in American society must come to an end. As Members of Congress, we need to face this challenge head on, with clear eyes, open minds, and full hearts. Making Juneteenth a national holiday is a start, but our constituents have shown us that sustained Congressional inaction is no longer an option.

This is the moment to pass comprehensive policing reform, protect and expand voting rights, and remove the vestiges of slavery from our social fabric for good.

In the last two years, the House has passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and the Voting Rights Advancement Act. The Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys Act was signed into law in December after passing both chambers with overwhelming bipartisan support.

This is the kind of legislation we need to begin unwinding the political, economic, and societal policies that have disadvantaged Black Americans since Reconstruction.

This Juneteenth, I hope my colleagues join me in reflecting on the myriad barriers to opportunity that exist for far too many Black Americans and in promoting concrete actions Congress can take to remove them.

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