015 of 2022 - Joint Ceremonial Resolution recognizing June 19, 2022 as Juneteenth Freedom Day in Salt Lake CitySALT LAKE CITY CORPORATION
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JOINT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING JUNE 19TH 2022 AS
JUNETEENTH DAY IN SALT LAKE CITY
WHEREAS, President Abraham Lincoln.first issued the Emancipation Proclamation
effective January 1, 1863, decreeing all people held as slaves be "henceforward"
free, however, a portion southern enslavers ignored that order; and
WHEREAS, Union General Gordon Granger was dispatched to Galveston, Texas to
announce the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and on June 19,
1865, enforced the president's 1863 order freeing stolen Africans and some
Indigenous people still held in human bondage in the State of Texas, two and a
half years after it was.first decreed: and
WHEREAS, June 19th has since come to be known as Juneteenth and is one of the oldest
celebrations in America growing out of the experiences of now Black Americans
and their enslaved African ancestors and is a celebration of the ending of chattel
slavery in America with the first "official" Juneteenth celebration taking place in
Texas in 1866; and
WHEREAS, Juneteenth provides an opportunity for the City to celebrate Black American
heritage and honor the lives, sacrifices, and contributions that are woven into
the American fabric; and
WHEREAS, Juneteenth also acknowledges America's commitment to liberty and equality in
accordance with the Constitution of the United States, along with the
Emancipation Proclamation, and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which
abolished slavery, ratified by Congress on December 6, 1865; and
WHEREAS, through other systems of oppression, such as sharecropping, Jim Crow,
redlining, and prison industrial complex, Black maternal health disparities, the
plunder of Black bodies and Black weali'h continued past slavery and persists to
this day, disproportionately affecting the physical and mental wellbeing, safety,
and education of Black Americans; and
WHEREAS, the candid acknowledgment of this history is necessary if we, as a nation, state,
or city, are successful in our effort to build a truly equitable community that
exemplifies and promotes the fundamental American values of freedom,
diversity, equality, liberty, andjustice; and
WHEREAS, both the federal government and the State of Utah now recognize Juneteenth,
on the third Saturday in June, as an official holiday.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED,
that the Salt Lake City Council and Mayor of Salt Lake City recognize June 19,
2022, as Juneteenth Freedom Day in Salt Lake City in celebration of the
culturally important role of emancipation and the work toward that liberation
in our past, present, and future.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,
that Salt Lake City emphasizes the freedom and dignity of every human being
and opposes and rejects any form of oppression.
Adopted this ___ day of June 2022
SALT LAKE CITY CORPORATION
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Erin Mendenhall
Salt Lake City Mayor
Darin Mano, Vice Chair
Salt Lake City Council Member, District Five
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Alejandro Puy
Salt Lake City Council Member, District Two
Ana Valdemoros
Salt Lake City Council Member, District Four
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Daniel Dugan, Chair
Salt Lake City Counc;_il Member, District Six
Victoria Petro-Eschler
Salt Lake City Council Member, District One
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Chris Wharton
Salt Lake City Council Member, District Three
Amy Fowler
Salt Lake City Council Member, District Seven