Bill Text: TX HR1804 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commemorating the 2019 Grand Prairie Juneteenth Celebration.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-05-28 - Reported enrolled [HR1804 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HR1804-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 1804 |
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WHEREAS, Residents of Grand Prairie are gathering together on | ||
June 14 and 15, 2019, for the city's Annual Juneteenth Celebration | ||
Cookout and Parade; and | ||
WHEREAS, The oldest known observance commemorating the end of | ||
slavery in the United States, Juneteenth specifically celebrates | ||
the emancipation of African American slaves in Texas; and | ||
WHEREAS, On June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger | ||
arrived in Galveston with federal troops to provide military | ||
support for Reconstruction efforts and to enforce President Abraham | ||
Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation; that same day, General | ||
Granger read publicly his General Order No. 3, which proclaimed | ||
that all slaves were undeniably free from that date onward and that | ||
there would be "an absolute equality of rights and rights of | ||
property between former masters and slaves"; and | ||
WHEREAS, Held on June 19 of each year, the commemoration of | ||
this momentous event became known as "Juneteenth," and celebrations | ||
grew over the decades to include recitations of the Emancipation | ||
Proclamation, readings by notable people, and such festive | ||
activities as singing, parades, rodeos, street fairs, and cookouts; | ||
and | ||
WHEREAS, Juneteenth has been observed as an official holiday | ||
in Texas since 1980, when legislation introduced by African | ||
American State Representative Al Edwards during the 1979 | ||
legislative session took effect; with the adoption of that bill, | ||
this special day became the first emancipation holiday in the | ||
country to be granted official state recognition; and | ||
WHEREAS, More than 150 years after emancipation was | ||
proclaimed in Texas, Juneteenth continues to inspire gatherings | ||
that honor the myriad achievements and immeasurable fortitude of | ||
the African American community in the Lone Star State; now, | ||
therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby commemorate the 2019 Grand Prairie Juneteenth | ||
Celebration and extend to all those in attendance sincere best | ||
wishes for a meaningful and memorable event. | ||
Turner of Tarrant | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 1804 was adopted by the House on May | ||
24, 2019, by a non-record vote. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||