Adams Cosponsors Bill to Make Juneteenth a Federal Holiday

Washington, D.C. - Today, on the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth, Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12) joined Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18) as an original cosponsor of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, which would make Juneteenth a federal holiday.

"I am proud to cosponsor legislation that will make Juneteenth a federal holiday," said Congresswoman Adams. "Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom, of our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Of emancipation instead of dehumanization. Of a message that made its way from Washington to Texas, freeing women and men upon its sight. It is our history, a reminder of deeds darker than death or night, and a debt unpaid that must still be made right. This bill is the least we can do, but it should still be done."

Additionally, Adams released a video announcing her support of the Juneteenth legislation.

A copy of the script for Adams' Juneteenth video is below:

Hello, I'm Congresswoman Alma Adams.

Today is the one-hundred-and-fifty-fifth anniversary of Juneteenth, a day that has also been called "Emancipation Day."

This week, in 1865, Union Soldiers finally made it to Galveston, Texas – over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. General Gordon Granger read General Order No. 3 five times, telling enslaved Africans they were free.

General Granger said, "The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer."

I am proud to announce on this day that I am an original cosponsor on legislation that will make Juneteenth a federal holiday.

Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom, of our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Of emancipation instead of dehumanization. Of a message that made its way from Washington to Texas, freeing women and men upon its sight.

It is our history, a reminder of deeds darker than death or night, and a debt unpaid that must still be made right.

This bill is the least we can do, but making it a holiday should still be done.

Thank you to all of the employers that have already made Juneteenth a permanent holiday,

and special thanks to my colleague, Sheila Jackson Lee, as we celebrate our freedom and ask for this momentous day to be recognized.

Thank you, God Bless You, and Happy Juneteenth!

Congresswoman Alma Adams represents North Carolina's 12^th Congressional District (Charlotte) and serves as Vice Chair of the House Committee on Agriculture. Additionally, she serves on the House Financial Services Committee and the House Education & Labor Committee, where she serves as Chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee. In 2015, she founded the Adams Hunger Initiative to address food insecurity across Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and the 12th Congressional District.