After Juneteenth, We Must Remain Vigilant
Two years after Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863, those words of freedom were slow to reach the far southern state of Texas; June 19, 1865 marks the date Union forces reached Texas and emancipated enslaved African-Americans, and as such, presumptively ended slavery in the United States.
In 2020 I was one of the first lawmakers in the country to pass a “Juneteenth” bill into law, marking June 19th as a state holiday. Since then municipalities and states across the country have passed similar legislation. While it was an important moment for myself, and millions of other New Yorkers, the symbolism wrapped up in the idea of Juneteenth holiday is equally as important.
After of the passage of my Juneteenth bill into law I remarked that “this bill is an acknowledgement of this historical date, and it serves not as an annual reprimand of this country’s flaws, but as a memorial for those who fought and died to end enslavement in this country, and a memorial for those who, having never experienced freedom, lived and died in bondage.”
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.