2023 -- H 6529

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

RECOGNIZING "JUNETEENTH NATIONAL FREEDOM DAY" ON JUNE 19, 2023

     Introduced By: Representatives Henries, Biah, Stewart, Alzate, Shekarchi, Blazejewski,
Chippendale, Abney, Felix, and Hull

     Date Introduced: June 14, 2023

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, Juneteenth originated in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, in celebration

of the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in America. The tradition of marking the end

of slavery with Emancipation Day celebrations had an earlier beginning in South Carolina on

January 1, 1863, in recognition of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Even earlier

celebrations of emancipation date back to when slavery was abolished throughout the British

Empire on August 1, 1834; and

     WHEREAS, Each year after 1834, on August 1, major emancipation celebrations were

organized across the West Indies and American cities with free African heritage populations. The

Rhode Island cities of Providence, Newport and East Providence were early sites for major

Emancipation Day celebrations and festivals dating back to the 1850s. During the 20th century,

tens of thousands of people attended Emancipation Day events at Roger Williams Park, Rocky

Point, and Crescent Park; and

     WHEREAS, Juneteenth is part of a number of emancipation celebrations that date back

to the early 19th century; and

     WHEREAS, Also known as Emancipation Day, Emancipation Celebration, Freedom

Day, Jun-Jun, and Juneteenth, Juneteenth National Freedom Day commemorates the strong

survival instinct of African Americans who were first brought to this country stacked in the

bottom of slave ships in a month-long journey across the Atlantic Ocean known as the Middle

Passage; and

     WHEREAS, Approximately eleven and a half million Africans survived the voyage to

the New World, with the number that died likely greater, and those who did survive were

subjected to whipping, castration, branding, and rape, and were forced to submit to slavery for

more than two hundred years after their arrival in the United States; and

     WHEREAS, Events in the history of the United States that led to the Civil War of 1861

centered around sectional differences between the North and South that were based on the

economic and social divergence caused by the existence of slavery; and

     WHEREAS, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as President of the United States in 1861,

and as President, he believed and stated that the paramount object of the Civil War was to save

the Union rather than to save or destroy slavery; and

     WHEREAS, Lincoln also stated that it was his belief that all men everywhere should be

free, thus adding to the growing anticipation for slaves that their ultimate liberation was at hand;

and

     WHEREAS, In 1862, the first clear sign that the end of slavery was imminent came when

laws abolishing slavery in the territories of Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado, and New Mexico

were passed; and

     WHEREAS, In September of that same year, President Lincoln warned that if the eleven

rebellious Confederate States did not return to the Union by January 1, 1863, he would declare

their slaves forever free via the celebrated Emancipated Proclamation; and

     WHEREAS, Enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation, however, only occurred in

Confederate States once they were under Union Army control and Congress subsequently passed

the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution on January 31, 1865, abolishing slavery

throughout the United States and its territories; and

     WHEREAS, News of this action reached the states at different times, and it was not until

June 19 of 1865, that the message of freedom reached the slaves in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana,

Arkansas, and California; and

     WHEREAS, Spontaneous celebrations erupted throughout the country when African-

Americans learned of their freedom; and

     WHEREAS, Juneteenth National Freedom Day celebrates the abolishment of slavery

with excitement and great joy and is a reminder to all Americans of the status and importance that

Americans of African descent hold as American citizens; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

urges the citizens of the State of Rhode Island to join in recognizing the historical significance of

Juneteenth Independence Day and the observance of Juneteenth National Freedom Day on June

19th; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That this House hereby supports the annual celebration of Juneteenth

National Freedom Day in order to provide an opportunity for the people of the State to learn more

about our country’s past and to better understand the experiences that have shaped our nation; and

be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Honorable Daniel J. McKee, Governor of

the State of Rhode Island.

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