Adams 🚨 Alert: Happy Juneteenth!
Today is a day to celebrate our history, our heritage, and the work we still have to do.
Happy Juneteenth!
As one of the original sponsors of Juneteenth legislation in the House, I was proud to vote to make Juneteenth a national holiday in 2021, and honored to join President Joe Biden when he signed our bill into law.
There are amazing Black Women who made this celebration of emancipation possible. Barbara Rose Collins introduced the first federal Juneteenth legislation in 1996. My colleague, Sheila Jackson Lee, led this legislation for years afterward until it became law.
Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom, of our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The legislation that made Juneteenth a federal holiday is called the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, because it recognizes the first time in the history of Black Americans that all our people were free from the evils of slavery.
However, our work continues.
When the 13th Amendment passed, we weren’t free from racism, prejudice, Jim Crow, or poverty wages. Black Women didn’t have the right to vote, and Black Men were prevented from voting in many states.
When Congress made MLK Day a federal holiday in the 1980s, it didn’t end the economic injustice that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. fought against his entire life.
In fact, the gap between rich and poor has only widened since then, and economic and social mobility continues to be the top issue in Mecklenburg County, Cabarrus County, and the Charlotte region.
So, as we celebrate our history this week, we must remember that while Juneteenth marked a victory over slavery, it was only the start of our fight for voting rights and equal justice under the law.
That fight, that long march to justice and equality and equity will not be over until we have fully protected the right to vote for all Americans, guaranteed equal justice under law, and achieved equitable treatment that repays the debts of past wrongs.
The work that still needs to be done also includes the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and we will never achieve true justice if misguided politicians continue to ignore Black history and prevent its teaching in our classrooms.
No matter what your background, the celebration of Juneteenth compels us to teach our history to our children. Don’t be afraid to say “Black,” and don’t hesitate to keep the flame of justice and Black excellence alive in the minds of future generations.
I can think of no better way to celebrate Juneteenth.
Thanks for reading, and for being engaged in our Democracy.
Sincerely,
Alma
Adams Hunger Initiative Meeting
June 29 at 11 AM at Johnson C. Smith University
Featuring Congressman Jim McGovern of Massachusetts
As a senior member of the House Committee on Agriculture’s Subcommittee on Nutrition and Oversight, Congressman McGovern has been a tireless advocate for ending hunger in America and around the world. He fought for and secured the first ever White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in 2022.
This meeting of the Adams Hunger Initiative will discuss the 2023 Farm Bill and food programs like SNAP and TANF.