[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 120 (Thursday, June 23, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 37437-37438]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13546]




                        Presidential Documents 



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

[[Page 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,

[[Page 37438]]

                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.
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                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2022-13546
Filed 6-22-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P