Juneteenth: Time To Reflect, Time To Move Forward

Juneteenth: Time To Reflect, Time To Move Forward

By U.S. Representative Diana DeGette

June 18 , 2004

The Juneteenth celebrations that take place in Five Points, the largest such event in the nation, commemorates an overlooked moment in our nation's history. The holiday honors the day, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in the Confederacy, when slaves in Galveston, Texas were told of their freedom. This presents us with a too-rare opportunity to reflect on the significant strides our nation has made in improving race relations and the work that still remains.

There is much to celebrate. The Denver area is the most diverse metropolitan area in the Rocky Mountain West, with a thriving African American community that dates back to our pioneer days. When we reflect on this heritage, we remember leaders like Clara Brown who, in 1885, became the first African American member of the Colorado Pioneer Association and Dr. Justina Ford, who overcame racism and sexism at the turn of the 20th century to become the first African American woman physician in Colorado.

In our more recent past, African American elected officials led the way in expanding upon the victories earned during the civil rights era. We must honor the hard work of people like Rachel Noel and Omar Blair who, as members of the Denver Public School Board, ensured that all students had equal access to quality resources and Elvin Caldwell, the first African American elected to the Denver city council, who fought tirelessly to combat racial discrimination and improve police relations in the city.

We have also seen the rise of important institutions, like the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, that work to ensure that contributions of African Americans are recognized. In addition, the Black American West Museum & Heritage Center provides Coloradoans with first hand accounts of African Americans who played an invaluable role in shaping the West. The University of Denver Center for African American Policy is committed to encouraging discourse about issues that affect African Americans.

But the creation of institutions to honor these accomplishments does not mean that our work is complete. Despite our enormous progress disparities still exist. The unemployment rate for African Americans in Colorado is 12 percent compared to 5 percent for the overall population in the state. Thirty-six percent of African Americans in Colorado under 65 went without health care coverage at some point in 2002 and 2003. These are challenges that have only been exacerbated by the recession and state and federal budget deficits that have resulted in cuts to critical employment and health care programs.

Just as the challenges facing previous generations were overcome, we must recommit ourselves to making sure that these problems to are solved. We must recognize the need to help those still out of work by expanding job training and higher education funding. As important, we must also acknowledge that there is a fundamental inequity in our tax system that gives the ultra-rich huge tax breaks even as it penalizes hard working families of all races struggling to make ends meet.

We are, however, making important strides in improving access to medical care for minority communities. A key component of this is providing sufficient funding to the children's and public hospitals in Colorado that take care of a disproportionate share of poor and uninsured patients. Last year I secured $10 million for Colorado hospitals including Denver Health. I am working to make sure that these hospitals continue to receive sufficient funds. In the long term, however, we must work to make health care coverage affordable for everyone.

Just as we celebrate the significant accomplishments of the African American community on Juneteenth, we also look to the future and the fights in which we are still engaged. Every one of us who has benefited from the diversity of the Denver area is committed to continuing to work together to solve the challenges that still confront us today.

U.S. Representative Diana DeGette is in her fourth term representing the 1st Congressional District of Colorado.