PRINTER'S NO. 3876
No. 780 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY MYERS, BLACKWELL, JAMES, KIRKLAND, OLIVER, PARKER,
PAYTON, PRESTON, ROEBUCK, WATERS, WHEATLEY, WILLIAMS,
YOUNGBLOOD, BEAR, BEYER, BOYD, COHEN, DALEY, DiGIROLAMO,
DONATUCCI, FAIRCHILD, FLECK, FRANKEL, FREEMAN, GEORGE,
GIBBONS, GODSHALL, GOODMAN, HARPER, HELM, HENNESSEY, HERSHEY,
HUTCHINSON, KORTZ, KOTIK, KULA, LONGIETTI, MANN, MANTZ,
MARSHALL, McILHATTAN, MELIO, MILLARD, MUNDY, MUSTIO,
M. O'BRIEN, O'NEILL, PALLONE, PASHINSKI, PAYNE, PHILLIPS,
RAMALEY, RAPP, REICHLEY, ROSS, SAINATO, SANTONI, STEIL,
STURLA, SWANGER, VULAKOVICH, WOJNAROSKI, CAPPELLI AND
JOSEPHS, JUNE 9, 2008
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
JUNE 9, 2008
A RESOLUTION
1 Recognizing the third Saturday of June 2008 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
1 grew quickly; and
2 WHEREAS, "Juneteenth National Freedom Day" further
3 commemorates the impact of slavery, the abolition movement and
4 African-American emancipation in the United States and has
5 become a traditional celebration of independence, human rights
6 and African-American culture in many communities; therefore be
7 it
8 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the
9 third Saturday of June 2008 as "Juneteenth National Freedom Day"
10 in this Commonwealth.
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