Pelosi: 'Juneteenth is America's Reminder of a Past of Inequality and a Future of Justice for All Citizens'

June 19, 2007

Washington, D.C. -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today in honor of Juneteenth, the day in 1865 that news spread that the Civil War was over and that all slaves were free:

'In his famous Gettysburg address, President Abraham Lincoln promised a new birth of freedom in our nation. And today we commemorate the day of new birth in which all people in America were made free: June 19, 1865.

'Known as Juneteenth, this is the day when Union Major General Gordon Granger landed in Galveston, Texas to issue the President's executive order, known to us as the Emancipation Proclamation. Although the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863, it took almost two and half years for the Proclamation to be enforced throughout all of the United States.

'Juneteenth has evolved into a national day of reflection and celebration for millions of Americans across the country. Juneteenth is America's reminder of a past of inequality, and a future of justice for all citizens. It is a reference point from which to appreciate the progress made in our society, toward the ideal of equality that is America's heritage and hope.'