HomeMy WebLinkAbout061421_cbs01 JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA REQUEST
TO: Board of County Commissioners
Mark McCauley, Interim County Administrator
FROM: Kate Dean, Commissioner
DATE: June 14, 2021
SUBJECT: PROCLAMATION re: Proclaiming June 19, 2021 as Juneteenth, a
Holiday Commemorating the End of Slavery in the United States
STATEMENT OF ISSUE:
Juneteenth is a holiday celebrating the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States.
Juneteenth is now celebrated annually on June 19 throughout the United States, with increasing official
recognition. It is commemorated on the anniversary date of the June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the
signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas and proclaimed
the last remaining slaves to be freed in the United States. While emancipation is celebrated on this day, the
institution of slaverywas still legal and existed in the Union border states until the ratification of the 13th
g
amendment to the Constitution of the United States in 1865, which abolished legal slavery in the U.S.
ANALYSIS:
The Washington State Legislature, in April 2021, passed a bill making Juneteenth an official, paid state
holiday (to take effect in 2022).
RECOMMENDATION:
Read and pass the Juneteenth Proclamation as a recognition of our nation's history and as a re-commitment
to identifying where racism persists and work to confront injustice in Jefferson County.
REVIEWED BY:
i2�G �a z i
Mark McCau , Interim County Ain trator ate
Proclamation
Whereas, on June 19th, 1865, two and a half years after the signing of the
Emancipation Proclamation, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas and
proclaimed the last remaining slaves to be freed in the United States; and,
Whereas this day marks the emancipation of all slaves, the institution of
slavery was still legal and existed in the Union border states until the
ratification of the 13th amendment to the Constitution of the United States on
December 6, 1865, which abolished slavery entirely in all of the U.S. states and
territories; and,
Whereas, since 1866, Juneteenth has been widely celebrated with
cultural festivities to mark the end of a defining and painful era in US history;
and,
Whereas, millions of Africans who were brought to North America as
slaves were tortured and endured unthinkable tragedies, resulting in trauma
that has endured through generations; and,
Whereas freed slaves and their kin faced discrimination in nearly every
aspect of life after emancipation, including access to housing, equal pay, the
ability to vote, freedom to attend public schools, access to banking and land
purchase, to name only a few; and
Whereas, the wealth of the United States was built on the backs of slaves
and other victims of discrimination on the land of Indigenous peoples, the
economic legacy of American racism has resulted in intractable poverty due to
lack of access to higher education, low rates of home ownership, and lack of
investment in African American and other disadvantaged communities to this
day. This systemic economic discrimination has prevented the attainment of
prosperity, an American ideal, for generations; and,
Whereas, systemic racism is evident in the criminal justice system,
where for hundreds of years African Americans have far too often been unfairly
profiled as offenders, denied access to due process and justice, given longer
sentences than their white counterparts, and occupy a disproportionate share of
death at the hands of law enforcement, jails, prisons and death row; and
Whereas Jefferson County has, like most Counties, a history of racism
dating from its inception as a result of the United States of America colonizing
the land of the indigenous peoples who had stewarded these lands and waters
from time immemorial- the Sklallam, Chimacum, Twanoh, Skokomish, Makah,
Hoh, Quileute, Ozette, Suquamish, Quinault and others; and
Whereas, racism lives on to this day across the Olympic Peninsula from
overt acts like the predatory stopping and detaining of immigrants, to the
more subtle judgements and biases felt by black, indigenous and other people
of color every day; and
Whereas, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and its resulting economic
distress, disproportionately affecting African Americans, were two times more
likely to die from the virus due to the systemically disadvantaged social
determinants of health; and
Whereas, many residents of Jefferson County and the United States are
calling for reforming of systems that perpetuate the ongoing injustice and
economic disparity that have defined our country for far too long, largely
based on the color of ones' skin; and,
Whereas, in April, 2021 the Washington State Legislature passed a bill
making Juneteenth an official state holiday.
Now, Therefore, the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners,
joins 49 states and countless jurisdictions in proclaiming June 19th, 2021 to be
Juneteenth, a holiday celebrating African American liberation
In Jefferson County, and call for all residents to:
• Honor the culture and contributions that African Americans
make to the fabric of our society and communities;
• Learn about the history and legacy of racism in the United States,
• Identify the ways that racism persists in perpetuating poverty
and violence,
• Take personal responsibility to call out privilege and bias in
ourselves, our communities and our institutions, and
• Recommit ourselves to achieving the American ideal of equality
for all, and recognition that until Black Lives Matter, we have
fallen short of that promise.
APPROVED this 14th day of June, 2021.
SEAL: JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Kate Dean, Chair
ATTEST: Greg Brotherton, Member
Carolyn Gallaway, CMC
Deputy Clerk of the Board Heidi Eisenhour, Member