SR0335 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0335 LRB102 18715 MST 27231 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The City of Bloomington Human Relations Commission, in partnership with the McLean County Historical Society and the Bloomington/Normal Black History Project (BNBHP), will be hosting the 2021 Annual Juneteenth Celebration; and

WHEREAS, This virtual event, known as Justice Delayed, will encompass a week of education, motivation, and celebration covering the racial history of the United States; and

WHEREAS, Bloomington-Normal held its first Juneteenth celebration in 1993; and

WHEREAS, Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the official ending of slavery in the United States when, on June 19, 1865, General Gordon Granger landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were freed; and

WHEREAS, The first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, gave his famous Emancipation Proclamation executive order just two years prior in 1863, which declared southern slaves to be free; and

WHEREAS, The inhumane practice of slavery in the United States was finally brought to an end following the Civil War; and

WHEREAS, The practice of slavery is now widely condemned and recognized as evil, and courageous leaders such as President Lincoln are responsible for paving the way towards a future where all Americans are treated as equal regardless of skin color; and

WHEREAS, The rights guaranteed to all United States citizens were unjustly denied to people based on the color of their skin; and

WHEREAS, Many African American citizens were denied basic rights even after slavery was abolished, due to government mandated racial segregation; and

WHEREAS, This continued racial discrimination following the abolition of slavery spurred the rise of prominent, courageous, and influential civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; and

WHEREAS, Despite this history of racial injustice, the United States has made progress towards the goal of racial equality; and

WHEREAS, The prominence of African American individuals in American life, such as Barack Obama, Clarence Thomas, and Condoleezza Rice, is evidence of how far America has come regarding racial equality; and

WHEREAS, The ending of slavery and racial segregation serves as a reminder that America is capable of change for the better; and

WHEREAS, America's racial progress towards achieving Dr. King's dream, where people are judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin, is a call for celebration and reflection upon American history; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare the week of June 14, 2021 as "Juneteenth Remembrance Week" in the State of Illinois, to be celebrated with the appropriate events and activities; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the City of Bloomington Human Relations Commission, the McLean County Historical Society, and the Bloomington/Normal Black History Project.