TO: Mayor and Commissioners
FROM: Katerri Johnson, City Clerk
THROUGH: Jennifer Alvarez, Interim City Manager
DATE: June 8, 2021
Title
OBSERVANCE OF JUNETEENTH
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Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Motion to observe Juneteenth on June 19th as the celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.
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Background:
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.