WHEREAS, President Abraham Lincoln first issued the Emancipation Proclamation effective January 1, 1863, decreeing all people held as slaves be ”henceforward” free, however, a portion of southern enslavers ignored that order; and
WHEREAS, Union General Gordon Granger was dispatched to Galveston, Texas, to announce the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and, on June 19, 1865, enforced the president’s 1863 order, General Order #3, freeing stolen Africans and some Indigenous people still held in human bondage in the State of Texas, two and a half years after it was first decreed; and
WHEREAS, General Granger and his troops were joined by 5,000 -10,000 additional soldiers from the 28th Indiana, 29th Illinois, and combined New York and 31st Regiments of the U.S. Colored Troops, USCT, that dropped anchor on June 18 in Galveston Bay, and provided a powerful image to the island’s enslaved people; and
WHEREAS, In 1865, President Lincoln said, “without the military help of the black freedmen, the war against the south could not have been won;” and
WHEREAS, June 19 has since come to be known as Juneteenth and is one of the oldest celebrations in America, growing out of the experiences of now Black Americans and their enslaved African ancestors and is a celebration of the ending of chattel slavery in America with the first “official” Juneteenth celebration taking place in Texas in 1866; and
WHEREAS, Juneteenth provides an opportunity for the City to celebrate Black American heritage and honor the lives, sacrifices, and contributions that are woven into the American fabric; and
WHEREAS, Juneteenth also acknowledges America’s commitment to liberty and equality in accordance with the Constitution of the United States, along with the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery, ratified by Congress on December 6, 1865; and
WHEREAS, through other systems of oppression, such as sharecropping, Jim Crow, redlining, and prison industrial complex, Black maternal health disparities, the plunder of Black bodies and Black wealth continued past slavery and persists to this day, disproportionately affecting the physical and mental wellbeing, safety, and education of Black Americans; and
WHEREAS, the candid acknowledgment of this history is necessary if we, as a nation, state, or city, are successful in our effort to build a truly equitable community that exemplifies and promotes the fundamental American values of freedom, diversity, equality, liberty, and justice; and
WHEREAS, both the federal government and the State of Utah now recognize Juneteenth, on the third Saturday in June, as an official holiday.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED,
that the Salt Lake City Council and Mayor of Salt Lake City recognize June 19, 2023, as Juneteenth Freedom Day in Salt Lake City in celebration of the culturally important role of emancipation and the work toward that liberation in our past, present, and future.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED
that the Salt Lake City Council and Mayor of Salt Lake City remain dedicated to dismantling racial inequality while advancing equity and justice to all.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED
that Salt Lake City emphasizes the freedom and dignity of every human being and opposes and rejects any form of oppression.
Adopted this 13th day of June 2023
To view an electronic copy of the signed resolution, click here.