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Juneteenth National Independence Day Act

Floor Speech

Date: June 16, 2021
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Arts, Entertainment, and History

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Mrs. BEATTY. Madam Speaker, we cannot change the future if we can't acknowledge the past. Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated and commemorated ending of slavery in the United States. Emancipation did not free all slaves, only those in the Confederate States. Independence is freedom for all people.

I rise today in strong support of S. 475, a top priority of the Congressional Black Caucus, to enshrine Juneteenth as a legal public holiday and a bill with tremendous historical implications for our Nation.

Madam Speaker, I thank you, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, for your work.

I thank Speaker Nancy Pelosi for speaking truth to power on this floor.

Lastly, as the chair of the powerful Congressional Black Caucus, I stand here leading our 58 members saying to you: We are the conscience of the Congress.

And today, I ask all of my Members to join us. Let us unite and pass this bill.

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