Utah State Legislature Official Citation Celebrating Juneteenth

Be it hereby made known to all by the Utah State Legislature:

WHEREAS, the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln was seminal in granting slaves’ freedom in the United States of America; and

WHEREAS, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863, but had virtually no recognition or effect in the southern states until General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Confederate Army on April 9, 1865, ending the Civil War; and

 WHEREAS, on June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordan Granger announced the end of the Civil War to the people of Texas and proclaimed that all enslaved persons were free; and

 WHEREAS, that day, Major General Granger proclaimed, “The people of Texas are informed that . . . all slaves are free” and declared “an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property” of former slaves; and

 WHEREAS, with that announcement, the Emancipation Proclamation issued years earlier was finally in full effect; and

 WHEREAS, since then, June 19 has been known and celebrated as “Juneteenth,” and is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of emancipation; and

WHEREAS, the Utah Legislature unanimously approved and the governor signed in 2016 H.B. 338, Juneteenth Holiday Observance, permanently establishing the third Saturday in June as Juneteenth Freedom Day in Utah as a commemorative period to recognize the significance of the events of June 19, 1865; and

WHEREAS, today marks 155 years since Major General Granger made his proclamation to the people of Texas, but we still have significant work to do to extend and protect hard-won freedoms in order to ensure that all people are treated as equals, regardless of the color of their skin; and

WHEREAS, today, the observance of Juneteenth is more important than ever and provides an opportunity for people from all races, religions, nationalities, and backgrounds to unite in order to protect the constitutional rights of all people:

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the Utah State Legislature joins all people in celebrating Juneteenth.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature expresses deep gratitude to all those who sacrificed, many by giving their lives, to extend fundamental freedoms to all of our fellow citizens.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Legislature reaffirms the words of the Declaration of Independence, that all people “are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

June 18, 2020