County Council recognizes “Juneteenth”
Published 3:30 pm Saturday, June 18, 2016
The Metropolitan King County Council on Wednesday recognized “Juneteenth,” the celebration of the end of two centuries of bondage of Americans of African descent in the U.S.
“June 19 is a day of celebration and remembrance,” said Councilmember Larry Gossett, the sponsor of the recognition. “For those newly freed men and women and for their ancestors who have spread across the U.S., Juneteenth is a day to celebrate the end of over two centuries of bondage in this country. It’s also a day to remember their sacrifice and understand that even today people of color are still not truly ‘free’ until we enjoy the rights that so many others take for granted.”
Two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, two months after Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate forces, and one month after the last official battle of the Civil War, the last Africans and African-Americans in bondage were told of their freedom by Union forces. That date, June 19, 1865, became a day of celebration for the African-American descendants of those freed slaves.
