Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 120 / Thursday, June 23, 2022 / Presidential Documents 37437 

Proclamation 10418 of June 17, 2022 

Juneteenth Day of Observance, 2022 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

After the Union Army captured New Orleans in 1862, slave owners in 

Confederate states migrated to Texas with more than 150,000 enslaved Black 

persons. For 3 years, even after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, enslaved Black Americans in Texas remained in brutal 

bondage, immorally and illegally deprived of their freedom and basic dignity. 

On June 19, 1865—over 2 years after President Lincoln declared all enslaved 

persons free—Major General Gordon Granger and Union Army troops 

marched to Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation 

and free the last enslaved Black Americans in Texas. 

Those who were freed from bondage celebrated their long-overdue emancipation on June 19. Today, our Nation commemorates Juneteenth: a chance 

to celebrate human freedom, reflect on the grievous and ongoing legacy 

of slavery, and rededicate ourselves to rooting out the systemic racism 

that continues to plague our society as we strive to deliver the full promise 

of America to every American. 

This Juneteenth, we are freshly reminded that the poisonous ideology of 

racism has not yet been defeated—it only hides. Our Nation continues 

to mourn the 10 lives senselessly taken in Buffalo, New York, and grieve 

for the families who have lost a piece of their soul. As we confront the 

awful reality of yet another gunman massacring innocent people in the 

name of hatred, racism, and fear, we must meet this moment with renewed 

resolve. We must stand together against white supremacy and show that 

bigotry and hate have no safe harbor in America. 

Juneteenth is a day to reflect on both bondage and freedom—a day of 

both pain and purpose. It is, in equal measure, a remembrance of both 

the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation, as well as a celebration 

of the promise of a brighter morning to come. On Juneteenth, we remember 

our extraordinary capacity to heal, to hope, and to emerge from our worst 

moments as a stronger, freer, and more just Nation. It is also a day to 

celebrate the power and resilience of Black Americans, who have endured 

generations of oppression in the ongoing journey toward equal justice, equal 

dignity, equal rights, and equal opportunity in America. 

Last year, I was proud to sign bipartisan legislation establishing Juneteenth 

as our newest Federal holiday, so that all Americans can feel the power 

of this day, learn from our history, celebrate our progress, and recognize 

and engage in the work that continues. Great nations do not ignore their 

most painful moments—they face them. We grow stronger as a country 

when we honestly confront our past injustices, including the profound suffering and injustice wrought by slavery and generations of segregation and 

discrimination against Black Americans. To heal, we must remember. We 

must never rest until the promise of our Nation is made real for all Americans. 

The emancipation of enslaved Black Americans was not the end of our 

Nation’s work to deliver on the promise of equality—it was only the beginning. On Juneteenth, we recommit to our shared work to ensure racial 

justice, equity, and equality in America. We commemorate the centuries 

of struggle and progress led by abolitionists, educators, civil rights advocates, 


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37438 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 120 / Thursday, June 23, 2022 / Presidential Documents 

lawyers, activists, trade unionists, religious leaders, public officials, and 

everyday Americans who have brought our Nation closer to fulfilling its 

promise. 

As my good friend, the late Congressman Elijah Cummings, said, ‘‘Our 

children are the living messengers we send to a future we will never see.’’ 

Together as a Nation, let us continue our work together to build a country 

we are all proud to pass along to our children—one where the foundational 

promises and ideals of America ring true for every child and every family. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States 

of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution 

and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 19, 2022, 

as Juneteenth Day of Observance. I call upon the people of the United 

States to acknowledge and condemn the history of slavery in our Nation 

and recognize how the impact of America’s original sin remains. I call 

on every American to celebrate the emancipation of all Black Americans 

and commit together to eradicate systemic racism and inequity that can 

never be tolerated and must always be fought against. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth 

day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-two, and of 

the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 

forty-sixth. 

[FR Doc. 2022–13546 

Filed 6–22–22; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3395–F2–P 


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