Label
Councilwoman Williams
Title
Recognizing Juneteenth as a Federal Holiday.
Summary
WHEREAS, President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863, but it wasn’t until June 19, 1865, two years later, that over 250,000 enslaved African Americans in Texas finally heard the news whereby an end to institutionalized slavery was finally established throughout the United States of America; and
WHEREAS, the celebrations that followed the reading of the proclamation by General Gordon Granger in Galveston, Texas began a tradition that has lasted over one hundred and forty years, and today is celebrated across America; and
WHEREAS, “Juneteenth”, as it was quickly coined by celebrants, is a day for all Americans to commemorate and celebrate the African-American experience, traditions, and their contributions to American life as well as cultural diversity, inclusivity, and community; and
WHEREAS, this year, with the approval of the U.S. Congress and President Joe Biden, June 19th or “Juneteenth” has been declared a Federal Holiday reminding all Americans that “…Great Nations don’t ignore their most painful moments, they embrace them”; NOW, THEREFORE,
Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Toledo:
SECTION 1. That "Juneteenth" is hereby recognized and celebrated annually beginning this nineteenth day of June, 2021!
SECTION 2. That this Resolution shall take effect and be in force from and after the earliest period allowed by law.
Adopted: June 22, 2021, as an emergency measure: yeas 11, nays 0.
Attest:
Gerald E. Dendinger Matt Cherry
Clerk of Council President of Council
Approved: June 22, 2021
Wade Kapszukiewicz
Mayor