WASHINGTON, D.C. – A day representing the true end of slavery in America has finally received its full recognition.
On June 17, President Joe Biden signed into law a measure recognizing June 19 of every year as National Independence Day, commonly known as “Juneteenth” among the black community.
Here now are Biden’s remarks in honor of the occasion:
“One hundred and fifty-six years ago – one hundred and fifty-six years – June 19th, 1865 – a major general of the Union Army arrived in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and free the last enslaved Americans in Texas from bondage. A day, as you all know – I’m going to repeat some of what was said – that became known as Juneteenth. You all know that. A day that reflects what the Psalm tell us: ‘Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.’
“Juneteenth marks both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation, and a promise of a brighter morning to come. This is a day of profound – in my view – profound weight and profound power.
“A day in which we remember the moral stain, the terrible toll that slavery took on the country and continues to take – what I’ve long called ‘America’s original sin.’
“At the same time, I also remember the extraordinary capacity to heal, and to hope, and to emerge from the most painful moments and a bitter, bitter version of ourselves, but to make a better version of ourselves.
“You know, today, we consecrate Juneteenth for what it ought to be, what it must be: a national holiday. As the Vice President noted, a holiday that will join the others of our national celebrations: our independence, our laborers who built this nation, our servicemen and women who served and died in its defense. And the first new national holiday since the creation of Martin Luther King Holiday nearly four decades ago.
“I am grateful to the members of Congress here today – in particular, the Congressional Black Caucus, who did so much to make this day possible.
“I’m especially pleased that we showed the nation that we can come together as Democrats and Republicans to commemorate this day with the overwhelming bipartisan support of the Congress. I hope this is the beginning of a change in the way we deal with one another.
“And we’re blessed – we’re blessed to mark the day in the presence of Ms. Opal Lee. As my mother would say, ‘God love her.’
“I had the honor of meeting her in Nevada more than a year ago. She told me she loved me, and I believed it. I wanted to believe it. Ms. Opal, you’re incredible. A daughter of Texas. Grandmother of the movement to make Juneteenth a federal holiday…
“…As a child growing up in Texas, she and her family would celebrate Juneteenth. On Juneteenth, 1939, when she was 12 years old, the white – a white mob torched her family home. But such hate never stopped her any more than it stopped the vast majority of you I’m looking at from this podium.
“Over the course of decades, she’s made it her mission to see that this day came. It was almost a singular mission. She’s walked for miles and miles, literally and figuratively, to bring attention to Juneteenth, to make this day possible…
“…By making Juneteenth a federal holiday, all Americans can feel the power of this day, and learn from our history, and celebrate progress, and grapple with the distance we’ve come but the distance we have to travel.
“You know, I said a few weeks ago, marking the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, great nations don’t ignore their most painful moments. Great nations don’t ignore their most painful moments. They don’t ignore those moments of the past. They embrace them. Great nations don’t walk away. We come to terms with the mistakes we made. And in remembering those moments, we begin to heal and grow stronger.
“The truth is, it’s not – simply not enough just to commemorate Juneteenth. After all, the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans didn’t mark the end of America’s work to deliver on the promise of equality; it only marked the beginning.
“To honor the true meaning of Juneteenth, we have to continue toward that promise because we’ve not gotten there yet. The Vice President and I and our entire administration and all of you in this room are committed to doing just that…
“…I wish all Americans a happy Juneteenth. I am shortly going to – in a moment, going to sign into law, making it a federal holiday.
“And I have to say to you, I’ve only been President for several months, but I think this will go down, for me, as one of the greatest honors I will have had as President, not because I did it; you did it – Democrats and Republicans. But it’s an enormous, enormous honor.
“Thank you for what you’ve done. And, by the way, typical of most of us in Congress and the Senate, I went down to the other end of the hall first and thanked your staffs because I know who does the hard work. They’re down there. They’re at the other end, but I thanked them as well. “May God bless you all. And may God protect our troops. Thank you.”
