gruzchiki spb…

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SJones

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SJones

Office of the Press Secretary
_____________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release June 19, 2009

STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA ON THE OCCASION OF JUNETEENTH

On this day in 1865, more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, those who found themselves still enslaved in Galveston, Texas had their hopes realized and their prayers answered. Contrary to what others had told them, the rumors they had heard were indeed true. The Civil War had ended, and they were now free.

General Gordon Granger issued the call with “General Order No. 3″ saying “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. ” June 19, or Juneteenth, is now observed in 31 states. Nearly a century and a half later, the descendants of slaves and slave owners can commemorate the day together and celebrate the rights and freedoms we all share in this great nation that we all love.

This moment also serves as a time for reflection and appreciation, and an opportunity for many people to trace their family’s lineage. African Americans helped to build our nation brick by brick and have contributed to her growth in every way, even when rights and liberties were denied to them. In light of the historic unanimous vote in the United States Senate this week supporting the call for an apology for slavery and segregation, the occasion carries even more significance.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
_____________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release June 19, 2009

STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA ON THE OCCASION OF JUNETEENTH

On this day in 1865, more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, those who found themselves still enslaved in Galveston, Texas had their hopes realized and their prayers answered. Contrary to what others had told them, the rumors they had heard were indeed true. The Civil War had ended, and they were now free.

General Gordon Granger issued the call with “General Order No. 3″ saying “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. ” June 19, or Juneteenth, is now observed in 31 states. Nearly a century and a half later, the descendants of slaves and slave owners can commemorate the day together and celebrate the rights and freedoms we all share in this great nation that we all love.

This moment also serves as a time for reflection and appreciation, and an opportunity for many people to trace their family’s lineage. African Americans helped to build our nation brick by brick and have contributed to her growth in every way, even when rights and liberties were denied to them. In light of the historic unanimous vote in the United States Senate this week supporting the call for an apology for slavery and segregation, the occasion carries even more significance.

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http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/story/11…

WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a resolution Thursday calling on the U.S. to apologize officially for the enslavement and segregation of millions of blacks and to acknowledge “the fundamental injustice, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow laws.''

The resolution, sponsored with little fanfare by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, passed on a voice vote. It now moves to the House of Representatives, where it may meet an unlikely foe: members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Several CBC members expressed concerns Thursday about a disclaimer that states that “nothing in this resolution authorizes or supports any claim against the United States; or serves as a settlement of any claim against the United States.''

The CBC members think that the disclaimer is an attempt to stave off reparations claims from the descendants of slaves. Congressional Black Caucus Chair Barbara Lee, D-Calif., said her organization is studying the language of Harkin's resolution.

Other CBC members said they've read it and don't like it. ''Putting in a disclaimer takes away from the meaning of an apology,'' said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. “A number of us are prepared to vote against it in its present form. There are several members of the Progressive Caucus who feel the same way.''

Thompson and other Black Caucus members noted that a 1988 apology issued to the Japanese-Americans held in U.S. camps during World War II had no disclaimer and didn't prevent them from receiving compensation.

Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., the Senate's lone African-American, went to the floor after the Harkin resolution passed and said, “I want to go on record making sure that that disclaimer in no way would eliminate future actions that may be brought before this body that may deal with reparations.''

Such concerns could slow a resolution that many lawmakers and civil rights groups considered such a slam-dunk that plans are already under way for an elaborate signing and apology ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda next month.

The resolution states that Africans and their descendants were forced into slavery in the U.S. and “were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized, and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage.''

To that end, the resolution “apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow laws.''