STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FOUR
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JOINT RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE THE OBSERVANCE OF
JUNETEENTH ON JUNE 19, 2024
WHEREAS, for 157 years, Juneteenth National Freedom Day, also known as
Emancipation Day, Emancipation Celebration, Freedom Day, Juneteenth Independence Day
and Juneteenth, has been one of the most recognized African-American holiday observances
in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Juneteenth commemorates the day freedom was proclaimed to all slaves in
the South by Union General Gordon Granger, on June 19, 1865 in Galveston, Texas, more than
2 1/2 years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln;
and
WHEREAS, Juneteenth commemorates the determination of the first people from Africa,
approximately 11,500,000 of whom survived the awful voyages across the Atlantic and who
were brought to this country and enslaved in chattel slavery and whose descendants served as
slaves for 200 years before the horrific institution of chattel slavery was abolished; and
WHEREAS, Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of chattel
slavery in the United States; and
WHEREAS, over 130 years after the Emancipation Proclamation and after years of
informal annual celebration, Juneteenth was declared a federal holiday in 2021 by the President
of the United States and the United States Congress; and
WHEREAS, "Until All are Free, None are Free" is an oft-repeated maxim that can be used
to highlight the significance of the end of the era of chattel slavery in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Juneteenth became an official state holiday in Maine in 2022; and
WHEREAS, it is important to recognize the historical significance of Juneteenth in order
to advance racial equity, human dignity and justice; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That We, the Members of the One Hundred and Thirty-first Legislature now
assembled in the Second Regular Session, on behalf of the people we represent, recognize the
observance of Juneteenth on June 19, 2024, and encourage people in our State to participate in
Juneteenth observances.
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