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Floor Speech

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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, one of the most defining days for our country throughout our Nation's history was when President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, freeing all slaves. It marked the end of one of the most shameful chapters in our country's history. But slaves in Texas wouldn't learn this life- altering news for nearly 2\1/2\ years.

It wasn't until June 19, 1865--the day we now know as Juneteenth-- that Major General Gordon Granger and the Union troops arrived at Galveston, TX, and shared the news that all formerly enslaved people were now free. These newly freed men and women set out from Galveston and spread the news, and they began their lives anew. Many traveled toward nearby Houston, and the news eventually reached the more than 250,000 slaves throughout the State of Texas.

In 1979, Texas was the first of what would become many States to proclaim the day Juneteenth as an official State holiday--1979. Every year on June 19, you will find parades, concerts, church picnics, family barbecues, and countless other Juneteenth events throughout the State.

I have joined a number of those Juneteenth celebrations over the years, but the one in 2021 in Galveston, the birth place of Juneteenth, will always stand out as one of my favorites.

Just 2 days before that celebration, a bill I authored with Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee was signed into law, officially establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday--not just a State holiday, a national holiday. This marked the culmination of many years of hard work by Juneteenth advocates in Texas, and it was an honor to celebrate with many of those advocates in Galveston exactly 156 years after Major General Gordon Granger and his troops arrived there.

I would be remiss if I didn't recognize the most tenacious advocate for the Juneteenth holiday, my friend Ms. Opal Lee, who is widely known as the grandmother of Juneteenth. Ms. Opal was driven from her Fort Worth home by a racist mob at the tender age of 12 years. Rather than turn that tragedy into hate, she made it her life's work to recognize the 2\1/2\ years it took the news of the Emancipation Proclamation to reach Texas by walking 2\1/2\ miles in different areas of the country to build awareness.

Even though Juneteenth is now a national holiday, Ms. Opal, at the tender age of 97, still walks 2\1/2\ miles in the Texas heat--she will do that tomorrow--to underscore the importance of continuing to strive for a more perfect Union. Juneteenth National Independence Day would not have been possible without her perseverance and humility, and I hope she understands and appreciates the importance of her work.

By making Juneteenth a national holiday, we have ensured that the history and significance of this day will not be relegated to footnotes in history books. Instead, it will preserve the history of Juneteenth for generations to come and serve as a reminder of the hard-fought struggle for freedom and reconciliation.

This holiday gives us the opportunity to confront the flaws of our past, to honor the progress that we have made, and to resolve to continue to work together for a brighter future.

I appreciate the hard work and dedication of those who made Juneteenth National Independence Day possible, and I wish everyone a happy Juneteenth.

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