H 8630

2026 -- H 8630
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LC006119
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  STATE  OF        RHODE  ISLAND
  IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
  JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
  ____________
  HOUSE RESOLUTION
  RECOGNIZING "JUNETEENTH NATIONAL FREEDOM DAY" ON JUNE 19, 2026
  Introduced By: Representatives Biah, Blazejewski, Kazarian, Chippendale, Hopkins,
  Santucci, Handy, Ajello, Furtado, and Kislak
  Date Introduced: June 11, 2026
  Referred To: House read and passed
1WHEREAS, Juneteenth originated in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, in celebration
2 of the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in America. The tradition of marking the end
3 of slavery with Emancipation Day celebrations had an earlier beginning in South Carolina on
4 January 1, 1863, in recognition of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Even earlier
5 celebrations of emancipation date back to when slavery was abolished throughout the British
6 Empire on August 1, 1834; and
7WHEREAS, Each year after 1834, on August 1, major emancipation celebrations were
8 organized across the West Indies and American cities with free African heritage populations. The
9 Rhode Island cities of Providence, Newport and East Providence were early sites for major
10 Emancipation Day celebrations and festivals dating back to the 1850s. During the 20th century,
11 tens of thousands of people attended Emancipation Day events at Roger Williams Park, Rocky
12 Point, and Crescent Park; and
13WHEREAS, Juneteenth is part of a number of emancipation celebrations that date back
14 to the early 19th century, and on June 13th, 2023, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed
15 legislation, which was signed into law on June 19th, declaring "Juneteenth National Freedom
16 Day" to officially be a State Holiday; and
17WHEREAS, Also known as Emancipation Day, Emancipation Celebration, Freedom
18 Day, Jun-Jun, and Juneteenth, Juneteenth National Freedom Day commemorates the strong
19 survival instinct of African Americans who were first brought to this country stacked in the
20 bottom of slave ships in a month-long journey across the Atlantic Ocean known as the Middle
1 Passage; and
2WHEREAS, Approximately eleven and a half million Africans survived the voyage to
3 the New World, with the number that died likely greater, and those who did survive were
4 subjected to whipping, castration, branding, and rape, and were forced to submit to slavery for
5 more than two hundred years after their arrival in the United States; and
6WHEREAS, Events in the history of the United States that led to the Civil War of 1861
7 centered around sectional differences between the North and South that were based on the
8 economic and social divergence caused by the existence of slavery; and
9WHEREAS, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as President of the United States in 1861,
10 and as President, he believed and stated that the paramount object of the Civil War was to save
11 the Union rather than to save or destroy slavery; and
12WHEREAS, Lincoln also stated that it was his belief that all men everywhere should be
13 free, thus adding to the growing anticipation for slaves that their ultimate liberation was at hand;
14 and
15WHEREAS, In 1862, the first clear sign that the end of slavery was imminent came when
16 laws abolishing slavery in the territories of Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado, and New Mexico
17 were passed; and
18WHEREAS, In September of that same year, President Lincoln warned that if the eleven
19 rebellious Confederate States did not return to the Union by January 1, 1863, he would declare
20 their slaves forever free via the celebrated Emancipated Proclamation; and
21WHEREAS, Enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation, however, only occurred in
22 Confederate States once they were under Union Army control and Congress subsequently passed
23 the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution on January 31, 1865, abolishing slavery
24 throughout the United States and its territories; and
25WHEREAS, News of this action reached the states at different times, and it was not until
26 June 19 of 1865, that the message of freedom reached the slaves in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana,
27 Arkansas, and California; and
28WHEREAS, Spontaneous celebrations erupted throughout the country when African-
29 Americans learned of their freedom; and
30WHEREAS, Juneteenth National Freedom Day celebrates the abolishment of slavery
31 with excitement and great joy and is a reminder to all Americans of the status and importance that
32 Americans of African descent hold as American citizens; now, therefore be it
33RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby
34 urges the citizens of the State of Rhode Island to join in recognizing the historical significance of
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1 Juneteenth Independence Day and the observance of Juneteenth National Freedom Day on June
2 19th; and be it further
3RESOLVED, That this House hereby supports the annual celebration of Juneteenth
4 National Freedom Day in order to provide an opportunity for the people of the State to learn more
5 about our country’s past and to better understand the experiences that have shaped our nation; and
6 be it further
7RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to
8 transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Honorable Daniel J. McKee, Governor of
9 the State of Rhode Island.
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