WASHINGTON – On Friday, June 19, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) released the following statement on Juneteenth. The Congresswoman’s federal offices are closed today in recognition of the holiday.
“Juneteenth marks the date that news of the Emancipation Proclamation finally reached enslaved people in Texas, over two and half years after President Lincoln first issued it. Sadly, deferred justice for Black Americans has been a common theme throughout our country’s history, and continues into present day.
I am proud to support legislation that would make Juneteenth a federal holiday and that would establish a commission to study reparations. But, we cannot stop there. Our Black siblings will not be free until they are free from all forms of economic and social oppression. They will not have justice until we root out the structural racism that persists in all systems – housing, health care, policing and education.
Across the country, the movement of advocates and demonstrators is showing us the way forward. Rather than critique their language, we need to listen to their voices. We need to be brave, and we need to act. We cannot ask Black Americans to wait another 155 years to be free from injustice.”
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Common Dreams | Radio Free (2020-06-19T14:26:39+00:00) Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez Releases Statement on Juneteenth. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2020/06/19/congresswoman-ocasio-cortez-releases-statement-on-juneteenth/
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