Today is Juneteenth, a newly-minted federal holiday just a couple of years old, but a holiday steeped in tradition and celebration for African-American communities dating back to June 19, 1865, when federal officers arrived in Galveston, Texas with the news that Black people enslaved in that state were free. It has been marked as a "second independence day" since then.
From the Biden Administration's proclamation:
On June 19, 1865, freedom finally came for the 250,000 enslaved people of Texas. That day, which would become known as Juneteenth, the Army arrived to enforce what had already been the law of the land for two and a half years -- the Emancipation Proclamation. Today, we recognize that Juneteenth not only marks the end of America's original sin of slavery but also the beginning of the work at the heart and soul of our Nation: making the promise of America real for every American.
One of my proudest moments as President was signing into law Juneteenth as a new Federal holiday -- the first Federal holiday to be established since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day four decades prior. Juneteenth is an acknowledgment of the truth of our Nation's history. It is about realizing the idea that America was founded on: All people are created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout their lives. It is about the generations of brave Black leaders and selfless activists who never let us walk away from that idea, including Ms. Opal Lee, whom I awarded the Medal of Freedom for her work as the grandmother of Juneteenth, and former State Representative Al Edwards, who authored the bill to designate it a holiday in Texas.
My Administration is working to ensure we continue to deliver on that idea -- creating a country that truly stands for freedom, justice, dignity, and opportunity for all. Today, record numbers of Black Americans have jobs and health insurance, and Black business ownership is growing at the fastest pace in over 30 years. We are investing more money than ever in Black families and communities. That includes the funding we are delivering to support predominantly Black neighborhoods that had been divided and left behind by segregation and racial discrimination, the checks we delivered that reduced Black child poverty to the lowest rate in history, the changes we have made to the appraisals process to root out biases that put Black homeowners at a disadvantage, and the over $16 billion investment in Historically Black Colleges and Universities so that we can ensure the next generation of Black leaders has equal opportunities for a quality education and pathways for economic mobility. We are working to rebuild and strengthen all of America by removing every lead pipe across our country, delivering affordable high-speed internet, forgiving $167 billion in student loan debt, and creating good-paying jobs that you can raise a family on. We are creating a new sense of pride and dignity in communities across the country.
C&L will be on a reduced schedule in honor of that celebration today.
