PRINTER'S NO. 3478
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
923
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY KINSEY, JUNE 9, 2016
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
JUNE 9, 2016
A RESOLUTION
Observing June 19, 2016, 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 151 years, Americans of African descent have
celebrated June 19th 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 Africans, mostly from the Congo,
Nigeria, Angola and Senegambia, survived the hazardous Middle
Passage and disembarked in North America, the Caribbean and
South America; and
WHEREAS, The forced migration of Africans to the United
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States involved an estimated 472,000 men, women and children,
nearly 83,000 of whom did not survive the Middle Passage; 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 Prohibiting
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,
1885; and
WHEREAS, On that day in Galveston, more than two years after
President Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation, Major
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General Granger announced the end of the Civil War and issued
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, In 1997, the 105th Congress of the United States
passed House Joint Resolution 56 and Senate Joint Resolution 11
to officially recognize Juneteenth as the Independence Day
Observance of Americans of African descent; 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 month-long journeys across the
Atlantic Ocean (the Middle Passage) and debarked to a life as
slave; 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
democracy and freedom; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives:
(1) observe June 19, 2016, as "Juneteenth Independence
Day" in Pennsylvania in honor of the memory, resilience,
courage and determination of enslaved persons and of all
Americans, living and dead, who embody Dr. King's quote:
"None are free until all are free";
(2) recognize that the abolition of slavery is part of
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the history and heritage of this Commonwealth; and
(3) encourage and support the continued celebration and
observance of "Juneteenth Independence Day" with appropriate
ceremonies, activities and programs in order to provide an
opportunity for the people of this Commonwealth to learn
about the past and better understand the institutions and
experiences that shaped our nation.
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