| 1 | 1 | | 89R9251 TBO-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Dutton H.C.R. No. 38 |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 8 | 8 | | WHEREAS, On June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger |
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| 9 | 9 | | arrived in Galveston with federal troops to provide military |
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| 10 | 10 | | support for Reconstruction efforts and to enforce President Abraham |
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| 11 | 11 | | Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation; that same day, General |
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| 12 | 12 | | Granger read publicly his General Order No. 3, which proclaimed |
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| 13 | 13 | | that all slaves were undeniably free from that date onward and that |
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| 14 | 14 | | there would be "an absolute equality of rights and rights of |
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| 15 | 15 | | property between former masters and slaves"; and |
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| 16 | 16 | | WHEREAS, The proclamation sought to break the physical chains |
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| 17 | 17 | | that bound slaves to their masters, but it could not sufficiently |
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| 18 | 18 | | address the mental shackles that prevented many former slaveowners |
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| 19 | 19 | | from truly accepting the freedom of former slaves; over time, the |
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| 20 | 20 | | racist ideology engendered by former slaveowners has remained |
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| 21 | 21 | | pervasive in American society; and |
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| 22 | 22 | | WHEREAS, Each year, the State of Texas observes Confederate |
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| 23 | 23 | | Heroes Day on January 19 to commemorate the lives of Confederate |
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| 24 | 24 | | President Jefferson Davis and General Robert E. Lee as well as |
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| 25 | 25 | | Confederate soldiers who died during the Civil War; opponents of |
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| 26 | 26 | | the holiday have spoken out about the need to preserve history |
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| 27 | 27 | | without glorifying individuals who fought to keep slaves in |
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| 28 | 28 | | bondage; and |
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| 29 | 29 | | WHEREAS, Eliminating Confederate Heroes Day and creating |
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| 30 | 30 | | Confederate Freedom Day would symbolize the state's commitment to |
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| 31 | 31 | | the values of liberty and equality, and the new holiday would help |
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| 32 | 32 | | to unite Texans in the fight against institutional racism and |
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| 33 | 33 | | discrimination; now, therefore, be it |
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| 34 | 34 | | RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 35 | 35 | | hereby express support for designating January 19 as Confederate |
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| 36 | 36 | | Freedom Day. |
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