| |
|
|
|
|
LOUISIANA |
|
All across
the U.S. and beyond, people are celebrating Juneteenth -
the spirit of freedom and achievement. What are you
doing for Juneteenth? Whether you are celebrating at
the office or in the park -
Let Us Know
and we'll let the world know! |
|
Click on a State to see list of events |
 |
|
Check out what, when and where
we're doing it: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Landrieu co-sponsors resolution recognizing
significance of Juneteenth Independence Day.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La.,
this week co-sponsored a Senate resolution
commemorating Juneteenth Independence Day, which is
celebrated on June 19th each year. The resolution
recognizes the day in 1865 when enslaved African
Americans were granted freedom.
“Juneteenth is one of the most significant days in
American history,” said Sen. Landrieu. “It is hard
for us living in a day and age when important news
makes it half-way around the world in an instant to
imagine a time when it took more than two years for
the news of emancipation to make it to many of those
waiting to be freed from slavery. This day of
African-American freedom is a time where we
commemorate the end of the ugliest chapter in our
country’s history, celebrate our progress on racial
equality and look ahead to a future where our
differences are entirely eclipsed by our shared
values and common purpose.”
It took more than two years for the news of
President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation to
reach some of the southwestern states. It was June
19, 1865 when Union soldiers led by Major General
Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas with the
news that all slaves had been granted their freedom
and from then forward Juneteenth Independence Day
has been celebrated as the anniversary of
African-American freedom.
Sen. Landrieu is a longtime advocate of legislation
and other measures on behalf of the African American
community. In 2007, she reintroduced the Servitude
and Emancipation Archival Research Clearing House
(SEARCH) Act, which she first introduced in 2004.
The legislation establishes a national database
within the National Archives and Records
Administration to house genealogical documents that,
because of slavery and segregation, are almost
impossible to find in common registers and census
records. Sen. Landrieu also cosponsored the Emmett
Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act in 2007, which
gives the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the
FBI the ability to reopen unsolved Civil Rights-era
murder cases.
Also in 2007, Sen. Landrieu and then Sen. Barack
Obama, D-Ill., together introduced a bill to change
the name of the main hall in the Capitol Visitors
Center (CVC) from the "Great Hall," a name shared by
the main hall of the Library of Congress, to
"Emancipation Hall." The bill was subsequently
signed into law.
This month also marks the fifth anniversary of a
Landrieu-led resolution in which the Senate
apologized to lynching victims and their families
for the Senate's failure to enact federal
anti-lynching legislation during the first part of
the 20th century. Because of the Senate's inability
to pass anti-lynching laws, the federal government
was left powerless to intervene and protect
Americans from mob violence. The Senate apology
passed on June 13, 2005. |
|
|
| |
|
All materials contained in this site are protected by trademark and
copyright laws and must only be used for personal, non-commercial
purposes.
Content on this website is provided to you as is for your
information and personal use only.
The reproduction, duplication, distribution (including by way of
electronic means), publication, modification, copying or
transmission of material from this site is strictly prohibited
without the expressed consent of JUNETEENTH.com
This prohibition
includes, but is not limited to, audio and video material, text,
graphics, logos, photographs or stills from audiovisual material
available on this site.
Breach of these terms may violate copyright, trademark and other
laws and is punishable by law. |
| |
|
|
