PRINTER'S NO. 2113
No. 236 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY MYERS, LEDERER, J. WILLIAMS, THOMAS, WASHINGTON,
DeWEESE, KIRKLAND, BEBKO-JONES, CRUZ, GEORGE, HERMAN,
FAIRCHILD, WATSON, MANN, BELARDI, MELIO, CAPPELLI, RUBLEY,
JOSEPHS, HERSHEY, HORSEY, STABACK, DALEY, YOUNGBLOOD, HARHAI,
SOLOBAY, ROSS, CORRIGAN, McNAUGHTON, C. WILLIAMS, HARPER,
MANDERINO, BUNT, PALLONE, BARD, JAMES AND WATERS,
JUNE 6, 2001
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
JUNE 6, 2001
A RESOLUTION
1 Designating the third Saturday of June 2001 as "Juneteenth
2 National Freedom Day" in Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, Originating in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865,
4 when slaves in that state learned that they had been freed,
5 "Juneteenth National Freedom Day" is the oldest African-American
6 holiday observance in the United States; and
7 WHEREAS, "Juneteenth National Freedom Day" commemorates the
8 survival instinct of Africans who endured a transatlantic
9 journey known as the Middle Passage on slave ships from their
10 homeland to this country; and
11 WHEREAS, Approximately 11.5 million Africans survived the
12 harsh voyage to slave markets in the New World during the late
13 17th century, and the slave population in the American colonies
14 grew quickly; and
15 WHEREAS, "Juneteenth National Freedom Day," further
1 commemorates the impact of slavery, the abolition movement and
2 African-American emancipation in the United States and has
3 become a traditional celebration of independence, human rights
4 and African-American culture in many communities; therefore be
5 it
6 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the
7 third Saturday of June 2001 as "Juneteenth National Freedom Day"
8 in Pennsylvania.
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