Lower Merion Officially Recognizes Juneteenth Holiday

LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, PA — Sunday, June 19 will mark the 157th anniversary of the last group of black slaves being notified of their freedom following the Emancipation Proclamation.

And in Lower Merion Township, June 19 is now officially recognized as Juneteenth Freedom Day

Officials earlier this week issued a proclamation declaring the holiday in the township.

The proclamation was made on Wednesday.

Read the full proclamation below:

PROCLAMATION - Juneteenth Freedom Day 2022

WHEREAS, Juneteenth provides an opportunity for Lower Merion Township to celebrate Black American heritage and honor the lives, sacrifices and contributions that are woven into the American fabric; and

WHEREAS, Juneteenth also acknowledges America’s commitment to liberty and equality in accordance with the Constitution of the United States, along with the Emancipation Proclamation, and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which abolished slavery, ratified by Congress on December 6, 1865; and

WHEREAS, President Abraham Lincoln first issued the Emancipation Proclamation effective January 1, 1863, decreeing all people held as slaves be “henceforward” free, however, some southern states ignored that order; and

WHEREAS, Union General Gordon Granger was dispatched to Galveston, Texas to announce the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and on June 19, 1865 enforced the president’s 1863 order freeing the people still held in human bondage in the State of Texas, two and a half years after it was first decreed; and

WHEREAS, June 19th has since come to be known as Juneteenth and is one of the oldest celebrations in America growing out of the experiences of Black Americans and their enslaved ancestors with the first “official” Juneteenth celebration taking place in Texas in 1866; and

WHEREAS, remembrance of the history of Juneteenth supports our efforts to build a community that exemplifies and promotes the fundamental American values of freedom, diversity, equality, liberty, and justice for all; and

NOW, THEREFORE AND IT IS PROCLAIMED, June 19th is Juneteenth Freedom Day in Lower Merion Township.

BE IT FURTHER PROCLAIMED, that Lower Merion Township emphasizes the freedom and dignity of every human being and opposes and rejects any form of oppression.

By: /s/
Todd M. Sinai, President

Attest: /s/
Jody L. Kelley, Secretary

Dated this fifteenth day of June, 2022 at Ardmore, Pennsylvania.