BILL NUMBER: ACR 87	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER  121
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  JULY 21, 2015
	ADOPTED IN SENATE  JULY 6, 2015
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 18, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Ridley-Thomas
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Brown, Burke, Cooper, Gipson, Holden,
Jones-Sawyer, McCarty, Thurmond, and Weber)
   (Coauthors: Senators Hall and Mitchell)

                        JUNE 11, 2015

   Relative to the 150th anniversary of Juneteenth.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 87, Ridley-Thomas. The 150th anniversary of Juneteenth.
   This measure would recognize June 19, 2015, as the 150th
anniversary of Juneteenth and would urge the people of California to
join in celebrating Juneteenth as a day to honor and reflect on the
significant role that African Americans have played in the history of
the United States and how they have enriched society through their
steadfast commitment to promoting unity and equality.



   WHEREAS, June 19, 2015, marks the 150th anniversary of Juneteenth;
and
   WHEREAS, Juneteenth, also known as "Juneteenth Independence Day,"
"Emancipation Day," "Emancipation Celebration," and "Freedom Day," is
the oldest African American holiday observance in the United States;
and
   WHEREAS, Juneteenth commemorates the strong survival instinct of
African Americans who were first brought to this country stacked in
the bottom of slave ships in a month-long journey across the Atlantic
Ocean known as the "Middle Passage"; and
   WHEREAS, Events in the history of the United States that led to
the start of the Civil War in 1861 centered on sectional differences
between the North and the South that were based on the economic and
social divergence caused by the existence of slavery; and
   WHEREAS, In 1862, the first clear signs that the end of slavery
was imminent appeared when laws abolishing slavery were adopted in
the territories of Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado, and New Mexico; and
   WHEREAS, In September 1862, President Lincoln issued the
celebrated Emancipation Proclamation, warning the rebellious
Confederate states that he would declare their slaves "forever free"
if those states did not return to the Union by January 1, 1863; and
   WHEREAS, Enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation occurred
only in Confederate states that were under Union Army control; and
   WHEREAS, On January 31, 1865, Congress passed the Thirteenth
Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing slavery
throughout the United States and its territories; and
   WHEREAS, Spontaneous celebration erupted throughout the country
when African Americans learned of their freedom; and
   WHEREAS, Juneteenth, or June 19, 1865, is considered the date when
the last slaves in America were freed when General Gordon Granger
rode into Galveston, Texas, and issued General Order No. 3, almost
two and one-half years after President Lincoln issued the
Emancipation Proclamation; and
   WHEREAS, Observance of Juneteenth, a reminder of emancipation,
spread from Texas to the neighboring states of Louisiana, Arkansas,
and Oklahoma, as well as Alabama, Florida, and California, where many
African American Texans migrated; and
   WHEREAS, Juneteenth symbolizes freedom, celebrates the abolishment
of slavery, and reminds all Americans of the significant
contributions of African Americans to our society; and
   WHEREAS, A growing number of American and African American
cultural institutions have sponsored Juneteenth cultural events
designed to make all Americans aware of this celebration; and
   WHEREAS, Juneteenth celebrations are a tribute to those African
Americans who fought so long and worked so hard to make the dream of
equality a reality; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California
hereby recognizes June 19, 2015, as the 150th anniversary of
Juneteenth; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature urges the people of California to
join in celebrating Juneteenth as a day to honor and reflect on the
significant role that African Americans have played in the history of
the United States and how they have enriched society through their
steadfast commitment to promoting unity and equality; and be it
further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.