"It is perhaps fitting that the hearing occurs on the 19th of June, also known to many in this room, as Juneteenth – the day that, 154 years ago, General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas and announced the freedom of the last American slaves; belatedly freeing 250,000 slaves in Texas nearly two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth was first celebrated in the Texas state capital in 1867 under the direction of the Freedmen's Bureau. Juneteenth was and is a living symbol of freedom for people who did not have it. Today, Juneteenth remains the oldest known celebration of slavery's demise. It commemorates freedom while acknowledging the sacrifices and contributions made by courageous African Americans towards making our great nation the more conscious and accepting country that it has become."
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Democratic Party (United States) politiciansJudges from the United StatesLawyers from New York (state)Members of the United States House of RepresentativesPoliticians from New York City
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Sheila Jackson Lee
Sheila Jackson Lee (January 12, 1950 – July 19, 2024) was the U.S. Representative for Texas's 18th congressional district, serving from 1995 until her death in 2024. She was a member of the Democratic Party.
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