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JUNETEENTH NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE DAY ACT
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speech of
HON. ALMA S. ADAMS
of north carolina
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Ms. ADAMS. Madam Speaker, as one of the original sponsors of Juneteenth legislation in the House, I am proud to stand with my colleagues in voting to make Juneteenth a national holiday.
Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom, of our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Of emancipation instead of dehumanization. Of a message that made its way from Washington to Texas, freeing women and men upon its sight.
It is our history, a reminder of deeds darker than death or night, and a debt unpaid that must still be made right.
On this Juneteenth, I encourage all Americans to reflect on the long walk to freedom, that took Union soldiers from sea to shining sea. Though we've travelled a long way, that walk continues today.
And while I am overjoyed to send this legislation to the President's desk and make it the law of the land, the work continues.
When Congress made MLK Day a federal holiday in the 1980s, it didn't end the economic injustice that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. fought against his entire life.
In fact, the gap between rich and poor has only widened since then.
So as we celebrate this victory for our history, we must remember that while Juneteenth marked a victory over slavery, it was only the start of our fight for voting rights and equal justice under the law.
That fight, that long march to justice and equality and equity will not be over until we have fully protected the right to vote for all Americans, guaranteed equal justice under law, and achieved equitable treatment that repays the debts of past wrongs.
Madam Speaker, thank you for joining me in celebrating Juneteenth, thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make it a federal holiday . .
. and never giving up the faith.
God bless.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 106
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