THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE RESOLUTION

INTRODUCED BY WATERS, BISHOP, B. BOYLE, V. BROWN, BROWNLEE, WHEATLEY, CALTAGIRONE, CLYMER, KIRKLAND, CUTLER, KORTZ, FLECK, FREEMAN, READSHAW, STURLA, GEORGE, GINGRICH, GOODMAN, HARPER, HELM, HENNESSEY, HESS, HUTCHINSON, JOSEPHS, JAMES, LONGIETTI, MAHONEY, MAJOR, MANN, MILLARD, MIRABITO, MUSTIO, M. O'BRIEN, PARKER, PASHINSKI, PAYTON, SACCONE, SANTONI, STABACK, SWANGER AND THOMAS, JUNE 19, 2012

INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, JUNE 19, 2012  

A RESOLUTION

Designating the third Saturday in June as "Juneteenth National

Freedom Day" in Pennsylvania.

WHEREAS, Originating in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865,

when slaves in that state learned that they had been freed,

Juneteenth National Freedom Day is celebrated in at least 37

states; and

WHEREAS, Juneteenth National Freedom Day is the oldest

African-American holiday observance in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Juneteenth National Freedom Day commemorates the

survival instinct of Africans who endured a transatlantic

journey, known as the Middle Passage, on slave ships from their

homeland to this country; and

WHEREAS, Approximately 11.5 million Africans survived the

harsh voyage to slave markets in the New World during the late

17th century, and the slave population in the American colonies

grew quickly; and

WHEREAS, Today, Juneteenth National Freedom Day commemorates

African-American freedom and emphasizes education and

achievement; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the

third Saturday in June as "Juneteenth National Freedom Day" in

Pennsylvania.