|
|
|
Here is the wording of state legislation, sponsored by then-Sen. Avel G ordly
during the 71st OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY in 2001
Senate Joint Resolution 31
Sponsored by Senator GORDLY; Representative NELSON
Whereas the Independence Day movement initiated by the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, did not include the enslaved descendants of Africans, nor were they recognized as full human beings under the Declaration of Independence; and
Whereas President Abraham Lincoln signed an executive order
known as the Emancipation Proclamation that granted freedom to
slaves in the states of the Confederacy on January 1, 1863; and
Whereas slave owners in the Confederate states continued to enslave people in defiance of the Emancipation Proclamation; and
Whereas, after the Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, the Union Army was dispatched to the Confederate states to restore order and to ensure that the Emancipation Proclamation was enforced; and
Whereas, when Union Major Gen. Gordon Granger read General Order No. 3 in the Gulf Coast town of Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, containing those most important words, 'all slaves are free,' impromptu celebrations erupted across the state as the long-delayed news spread; and
Whereas June 19 is the oldest and most widely known celebration of African-American emancipation and a time for revival meetings, family reunions and celebrations of freedom, including pilgrimages by slaves and descendants of slaves to Galveston; and
Whereas June 19 is the freedom forerunner to the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which granted freedom to all slaves born in the United States, and the date is pivotal in our nation's Independence Day movement; and
Whereas in 1997 the 105th United States Congress passed Senate Joint Resolution 11 and House Joint Resolution 56 officially recognizing Juneteenth Independence Day; and
Whereas a formal apology for slavery, House Concurrent Resolution 356, was sponsored in the United States Congress by Representative Tony Hall of Ohio at the first annual Washington Juneteenth 2000 National Holiday Observance; and
Whereas Idaho, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Delaware and Alaska have already recognized the end of slavery in the U.S. through a Juneteenth state holiday, and thousands of petitions have been sent to the White House urging President Bush to declare June 19 a national holiday; and
Whereas if a Presidential Proclamation were issued, Juneteenth would be recognized as a national holiday and a very significant step would be taken to bring healing in the United States from the devastation caused by slavery; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon:
That we, the members of the Seventy-first Legislative Assembly, do hereby declare Juneteenth, June 19 of each year, to be a day for celebration statewide of the dignity and freedom of all citizens.
Enrolled Senate Joint Resolution 31 (SJR 31-A)
Adopted by Senate on June 4, 2001
Adopted by House on June 19, 2001 | |
|