R 320
2021 -- H 6447
Enacted 06/17/2021

H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N
RECOGNIZING "JUNETEENTH NATIONAL FREEDOM DAY" ON JUNE 19, 2021

Introduced By: Representatives Williams, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Alzate, Vella-Wilkinson, Hull, Biah, J Lombardi, Henries, and Morales

Date Introduced: June 17, 2021

     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, But Lincoln also stated his belief that all men everywhere should be free,
thus adding to the growing anticipation of 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 the eleven
rebellious Confederate States that if they 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
     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 duly certified copies of this resolution to the Governor of the State of Rhode Island and
Reverend Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D.
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LC002973
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