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PROPOSED SUBSTITUTE TO FILE 20-3460
(Rules and Administration Committee 12/16/2020)
Sponsored by: STANLEY MOORE, DENNIS DEER, ALMA E. ANAYA, LUIS ARROYO JR, SCOTT
R. BRITTON, JOHN P. DALEY, BRIDGET DEGNEN, BRANDON JOHNSON, BILL LOWRY, KEVIN B. MORRISON, DEBORAH SIMS, LARRY SUFFREDIN, DONNA MILLER, AND FRANK J. AGUILAR, Cook County Board of Commissioners
PROPOSED ORDINANCE AMENDMENT
JUNETEENTH RECOGNIZED AS A COOK COUNTY HOLIDAY
WHEREAS, On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation; and
WHEREAS, The Emancipation Proclamation established that all enslaved people in Confederate states and against the Union shall be set free from slavery; and
WHEREAS, Many slave owners in the state of Texas did not release their slaves; and
WHEREAS, On June 19th, 1865, General Gordan Grainger and his troops made their way to Galveston, Texas after the surrender of General Robert E. Lee on Appomattox, Virginia. Upon General Grainger's arrival in Texas soil, he issued Generals Order No. 3; and
WHEREAS, This order officially declared the immediate release and freedom of the remainder of slaves located in Texas; and
WHEREAS, Slaves that were forcefully held captive for almost three years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued were finally pronounced freemen; and
WHEREAS, In 1866, freedmen in Texas organized the first of what became the annual celebration of "Jubilee Day" on June 19. In the ensuing decades, Juneteenth commemorations featured music, ethnic cuisines, prayer services, and other activities; and
WHEREAS, The last of the people, that were freed from slavery in Texas, made it a custom to go back to Galveston to celebrate their freedom. These former slaves pioneered and spread the celebration of Juneteenth throughout the entirety of the United States; and
WHEREAS, Although slaves were considered freemen, they continued to receive harsh treatment and were discriminated against by a large population of America; and
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