| 2 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 3 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
|---|
| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, Residents of Grand Prairie are gathering together on |
|---|
| 6 | 7 | | June 14 and 15, 2019, for the city's Annual Juneteenth Celebration |
|---|
| 7 | 8 | | Cookout and Parade; and |
|---|
| 8 | 9 | | WHEREAS, The oldest known observance commemorating the end of |
|---|
| 9 | 10 | | slavery in the United States, Juneteenth specifically celebrates |
|---|
| 10 | 11 | | the emancipation of African American slaves in Texas; and |
|---|
| 11 | 12 | | WHEREAS, On June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger |
|---|
| 12 | 13 | | arrived in Galveston with federal troops to provide military |
|---|
| 13 | 14 | | support for Reconstruction efforts and to enforce President Abraham |
|---|
| 14 | 15 | | Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation; that same day, General |
|---|
| 15 | 16 | | Granger read publicly his General Order No. 3, which proclaimed |
|---|
| 16 | 17 | | that all slaves were undeniably free from that date onward and that |
|---|
| 17 | 18 | | there would be "an absolute equality of rights and rights of |
|---|
| 18 | 19 | | property between former masters and slaves"; and |
|---|
| 19 | 20 | | WHEREAS, Held on June 19 of each year, the commemoration of |
|---|
| 20 | 21 | | this momentous event became known as "Juneteenth," and celebrations |
|---|
| 21 | 22 | | grew over the decades to include recitations of the Emancipation |
|---|
| 22 | 23 | | Proclamation, readings by notable people, and such festive |
|---|
| 23 | 24 | | activities as singing, parades, rodeos, street fairs, and cookouts; |
|---|
| 24 | 25 | | and |
|---|
| 25 | 26 | | WHEREAS, Juneteenth has been observed as an official holiday |
|---|
| 26 | 27 | | in Texas since 1980, when legislation introduced by African |
|---|
| 27 | 28 | | American State Representative Al Edwards during the 1979 |
|---|
| 28 | 29 | | legislative session took effect; with the adoption of that bill, |
|---|
| 29 | 30 | | this special day became the first emancipation holiday in the |
|---|
| 30 | 31 | | country to be granted official state recognition; and |
|---|
| 31 | 32 | | WHEREAS, More than 150 years after emancipation was |
|---|
| 32 | 33 | | proclaimed in Texas, Juneteenth continues to inspire gatherings |
|---|
| 33 | 34 | | that honor the myriad achievements and immeasurable fortitude of |
|---|
| 34 | 35 | | the African American community in the Lone Star State; now, |
|---|
| 35 | 36 | | therefore, be it |
|---|
| 36 | 37 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
|---|
| 37 | 38 | | Legislature hereby commemorate the 2019 Grand Prairie Juneteenth |
|---|
| 38 | 39 | | Celebration and extend to all those in attendance sincere best |
|---|
| 39 | 40 | | wishes for a meaningful and memorable event. |
|---|