PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, Juneteenth recognizes that on June 19, 1865, almost three years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, Union General Gordon Granger announced in Galveston the freedom of all slaves throughout Texas with these words, “The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free,”; and
WHEREAS, Juneteenth has been an official 40-year state holiday honoring the courageous Black Texans who have long struggled for civil rights in the 155 years since General Granger’s proclamation; and
WHEREAS, Williamson County residents value history, ethnic heritage, and culture, which accurately reflects the real lives and struggles of African-Americans past, present, and future; and
WHEREAS, let us all be reminded that our nation has not yet achieved its full potential and that, even more so today, it is incumbent upon each of us to add our voices to those who are continuing to bend the arc of the moral universe towards justice;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT PROCLAIMED, that the Williamson County Commissioners Court takes this action and hereby recognizes and proclaims, June 19, 2020 as:
“JUNETEENTH – TEXAS EMANCIPATION DAY”
in Williamson County, and encourages all Williamson County employees and residents to learn more about Juneteenth and support the noble purpose of this day. (The End)