Memorandum
Date: June 17, 2025
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Board of Supervisors
Subject: Presentation of Proclamation Recognizing June 19, 2025 as Juneteenth: National Freedom Day
Executive Summary:
RECOGNIZING JUNE 19TH, 2025, AS
JUNETEENTH: NATIONAL FREEDOM DAY
WHEREAS, Juneteenth is the oldest national commemoration of the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States and is a profoundly significant celebration of freedom, symbolizing the end of the oppressive era of slavery in the United States; and
WHEREAS, on June 19th each year, we look back to this day in 1865, on which Union General Gordon Granger led troops into Galveston, Texas, to announce the end of the Civil War and the insidious institution of slavery. Thousands of enslaved people in Texas - among the last to learn of their independence - tasted hard-won freedom for the first time; and
WHEREAS, over the next several decades, African Americans who journeyed out of the South seeking better lives brought Juneteenth celebrations with them. The thousands who settled in California, especially in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, taught our state that America's struggle for independence did not end in 1776 or 1865, but continues to this day; and
WHEREAS, we are urged to reflect on the ongoing cause of freedom for Black Americans - remembering that, though General Granger's announcement in 1865 called for "absolute equality," that vision was, and remains, far from complete; and
WHEREAS, as we recognize the significance of the this pivotal moment in history and its enduring impact on the struggle for equality and justice, we urge people of all backgrounds to reflect, celebrate, and continue the journey towards freedom.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT PROCLAIMED, the Lake County Board of Supervisors does hereby recognize June 19th, 2025, as Juneteenth: National Freedom Day.
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