6-19-2020 11:12pm

The Declaration of June 19 as Juneteenth Independence Day in the City of Saline

Saline City Council passed a resolution declaring June 19th as Juneteenth Independence Day. The resolution, posted below, was written by Saline resident Kerstin Woodside. During Monday's council meeting, Councillor Christen Mitchell asked Mayor Brian Marl to read the resolution, which he did at the end of the meeting.

CITY OF SALINE WASHTENAW COUNTY, MICHIGAN
A Resolution to Declare June 19, 2019 as Juneteenth Independence Day in the City of Saline

Whereas, approximately eleven and one-half million African people survived capture, an inhumane voyage to the New World, and were forced into slavery; and

Whereas, it is shamefully unknown how many died during efforts to capture these people; and an additional two million people did not survive the cruel journey from Africa; and

Whereas, these enslaved people were subjected to whipping, castration, branding, rape, and the tearing apart of families for generations over the span of 200 years; and

Whereas, when slavery of these people was legally ended, this news did not reach the frontier areas of the United States, in particular the State of Texas and other southwestern areas until months after the conclusion of the Civil War, more than two and one-half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863; and

Whereas, On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers were led by Major General Gordon Granger to Galveston, Texas with news the Civil War had ended and declared the enslaved to be free people herein, and

Whereas, formerly enslaved people celebrated June 19, as “Juneteenth Independence Day," inspiring and encouraging future generations of African American people; and

Whereas, Juneteenth Independence Day celebrations have been held to honor African-American freedom while encouraging self-development and teach respect for Black culture; and

Whereas, due to other systems of oppression-- such as sharecropping, Jim Crow laws, red-lining, and mass incarceration-- the plunder of Black bodies and Black wealth persists to this day, affecting the physical, mental health, safety, and education of African American people; and

Whereas, the faith and strength of character demonstrated by former enslaved people and the descendants of formerly enslaved people remain an example for all people of the United States,

Therefore, let it be resolved by the City of Saline, that the City of Saline declares every June 19 as "Juneteenth Independence Day."

THEREFORE, let it be resolved that the City of Saline declares every June 19 as “Juneteenth Independence Day" on this the 15th of June, 2020.

_________________________ Terri Royal, Saline City Clerk
Page