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

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

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

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

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

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

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Empire on August 1, 1834; and

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

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

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

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

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

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Point, and Crescent Park; and

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

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to the early 19th century; and

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

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

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

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

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Passage; and

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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the Union rather than to save or destroy slavery; and

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

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

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and

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

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

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were passed; and

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

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

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their slaves forever free via the celebrated Emancipated Proclamation; and

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

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

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

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throughout the United States and its territories; and

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

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

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Arkansas, and California; and

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     WHEREAS, Spontaneous celebrations erupted throughout the country when African-

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Americans learned of their freedom; and

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     WHEREAS, Juneteenth National Freedom Day celebrates the abolishment of slavery

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

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

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

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

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

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19th; and be it further

 

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

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

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

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be it further

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

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

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the State of Rhode Island.

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