Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SR0035

SR0035 LRB104 07347 ECR 17387 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, January 1st marks the official day when enslaved people were declared free following President Abraham Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation; and

WHEREAS, The Confederate states were mandated to free the slaves at midnight on January 1, 1863; however, it took nearly two more years, until June 19, 1865, for many individuals to be informed that they were free; this freedom mandate included short-term and long-term contingencies for the Black and Diaspora communities; and

WHEREAS, While Juneteenth is celebrated as the day enslaved people learned of their freedom, January 1st will forever be the official freedom date; and

WHEREAS, Frederick Douglass argued that freedom would be empty if the formerly enslaved were not guaranteed the rights and protections of American citizens; and

WHEREAS, Fannie Lou Hamer once said, "Nobody's free until everybody's free"; and

WHEREAS, Acknowledging January 1st as the day enslaved people officially received their freedom will enhance our understanding of the oppression and challenges they faced, including the denial of their rights and the struggle for equality; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare January 1, 2026 as Black Diaspora Freedom Day in the State of Illinois to educate, showcase, discuss, and mend fences between the Black and Diaspora communities.