PRINTER'S NO. 1587
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
152
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY BULLOCK, KINSEY, N. NELSON, PARKER, SMITH-WADE-EL,
KHAN, KRAJEWSKI, MAYES, YOUNG, ABNEY, BELLMON, A. BROWN,
BURGOS, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, CEPHAS, CURRY, DAWKINS, FLEMING,
GIRAL, GREEN, GUZMAN, HARRIS, HILL-EVANS, KAZEEM, KENYATTA,
KIM, MADSEN, McCLINTON, RABB, SCOTT, VENKAT, D. WILLIAMS,
SANCHEZ, VITALI, MERSKI, HADDOCK, MADDEN, D. MILLER,
HOHENSTEIN, BOROWSKI AND SAMUELSON, JUNE 14, 2023
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JUNE 14, 2023
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing June 19, 2023, as "Juneteenth Independence Day" in
Pennsylvania in recognition of June 19, 1865, the date on
which slavery was abolished finally in all regions of the
United States.
WHEREAS, For 154 years, Americans of African descent have
celebrated June 19 as "Juneteenth Independence Day" or
"Juneteenth National Freedom Day" in recognition of the human
struggles of their enslaved descendants; and
WHEREAS, According to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
Database, between 1525 and 1866, the duration of the
transatlantic slave trade to the Americas, an estimated 12.5
million men, women and children were captured and forcibly
transported in bondage from their African homelands to the
Americas; and
WHEREAS, An estimated 10.7 million Africans, mostly from the
Congo, Nigeria, Angola and Senegambia, survived the hazardous
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Middle Passage and disembarked in North America, the Caribbean
and South America; and
WHEREAS, History characterizes the transatlantic slave trade
as a brutal and horrific commercial and economic enterprise and
the enslavement of Africans as cruel, exploitative and
dehumanizing; and
WHEREAS, Lasting for nearly four centuries, the transatlantic
slave trade represents one of the longest and most sustained
assaults on the life, integrity and dignity of human beings in
history and one of the greatest tragedies in the history of
humanity; and
WHEREAS, With the enactment of the Act to Prohibit the
Importation of Slaves of 1807, the United States outlawed the
transatlantic slave trade in 1808; and
WHEREAS, Although the 1807 Federal legislation ended the
legality of the transatlantic slave trade in the United States,
the law was not universally enforced; and
WHEREAS, Enslaved Africans continued to be smuggled into the
United States and the domestic slave trade was not affected; and
WHEREAS, On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued
the Emancipation Proclamation, which proclaimed all enslaved
Africans to be free; and
WHEREAS, News of the Emancipation Proclamation did not reach
the frontier, in particular the State of Texas and the other
southwestern states, until Union troops, commanded by Major
General Gordon Granger, arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 19,
1865; and
WHEREAS, On that day in Galveston, more than two years after
President Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation, Major
General Granger announced the end of the Civil War and issued
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General Order No.3, which proclaimed all slaves to be free,
including absolute equality in personal rights; and
WHEREAS, Slavery as an institution was not officially
abolished until the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States on December 6, 1865; and
WHEREAS, On June 18, 2020, H.R. 7232, the Juneteenth National
Independence Day Act, was introduced and reintroduced as H.R.
1320 on February 25, 2021, in the House of Representatives,
marking the first time in Congress a bill had been introduced to
declare Juneteenth a Federal holiday; and
WHEREAS, On June 17, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.,
signed into law the bill that established Juneteenth as a
Federal holiday, one day before the first anniversary of the
introduction of H.R. 7232, making it the most recent addition to
the list of Federal holidays; and
WHEREAS, The faith and strength of character demonstrated by
former slaves remains an example for all people of the United
States, regardless of background, religion or race; and
WHEREAS, People nationwide join together to celebrate June 19
as "Juneteenth Independence Day" in recognition of the end of
slavery in all regions of the United States and to commemorate
the survival and determination of African men, women and
children who survived the monthlong journeys across the Atlantic
Ocean, also known as the Middle Passage, and debarked to a life
as slaves; and
WHEREAS, The faith, courage and strength of character
demonstrated by former slaves and the descendants of former
slaves remain an example for all people of the United States;
and
WHEREAS, The United States is the worldwide symbol of
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democracy and freedom; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize June
19, 2023, as "Juneteenth Independence Day" in Pennsylvania in
recognition of June 19, 1865, the date on which slavery was
abolished finally in all regions of the United States; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives encourage
residents to observe "Juneteenth Independence Day" with
appropriate ceremonies, activities and programs; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives support the
continued celebration of "Juneteenth Independence Day" to
provide an opportunity for the residents of this Commonwealth to
learn more about the past and to better understand the
experiences that have shaped the nation.
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