WHEREAS, Juneteenth commemorates the freeing of formerly enslaved individuals and their descendants. It is historically a time of prayer, reflection, and family reunion; and
WHEREAS, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, declaring the slaves in Confederate territory free, paving the way for the passing of the 13th Amendment, which formally abolished slavery in the United States of America; and
WHEREAS, Juneteenth observes the events of June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger led Union soldiers into Galveston, Texas, bringing news that the Civil War had ended and that the Emancipation Proclamation had declared all enslaved people free nearly two and a half years earlier; and
WHEREAS, June nineteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, or Jubilee Day, remembers the strength and resolve of Black and African Americans throughout our history and serves as an opportunity to celebrate the numerous contributions of Black and African Americans; and
WHEREAS, On Juneteenth, we recommit ourselves to the work of equity, equality, and justice. I urge all citizens to become more aware of the significance of this celebration in African-American History and in the heritage of our nation and town;
NOW, THEREFORE I, Vicki Tesoro, by virtue of the authority vested in me as First Selectman of the Town of Trumbull, Connecticut, do hereby proclaim June 19, 2022 as JUNETEENTH.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Town of Trumbull to be affixed on the 16th day of June in the year 2022.
Vicki Tesoro, |First Selectman