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2 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING DECEMBER 6, 2017 AS <br /> ABOLITION DAY <br /> WHEREAS, on the sixth day of December, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the United States <br /> Constitution was ratified, officially abolishing slavery in the entire United States; and <br /> WHEREAS, this historic piece of legislation occurred almost three years after President Abraham <br /> Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation which freed only those people held in <br /> slavery in the rebelling states; and <br /> WHEREAS, Amendment XIII. Section 1 of the United States Constitution reads: "Neither slavery <br /> nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall <br /> have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to <br /> their jurisdiction"; and <br /> WHEREAS, the 13th Amendment marked the beginning of attempts to provide protections and <br /> liberties to formerly enslaved persons, primarily the sons and daughters of Africa as <br /> well as Indigenous Peoples; and <br /> WHEREAS, the journey to freedom has been and continues to be a protracted and arduous journey <br /> whereupon women, men and children have endured violence and pain; and <br /> WHEREAS, despite the advancements made throughout the past 152 years toward liberation and <br /> equity, people still are fighting against policies and practices intended to <br /> disenfranchise them and divest them of their humanity, citizenship and dignity; and <br /> WHEREAS, historically marginalized and oppressed people nevertheless remain encouraged and <br /> emboldened by the spirit of their ancestors to continue the march for the full measure <br /> of freedom that they believe they shall achieve one day; <br /> NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, do hereby proclaim that <br /> December 6, 2017 shall be recognized as ABOLITION DAY throughout the County, <br /> and urge all residents to support and engage in the ongoing struggle to ensure freedom <br /> and justice for all of humanity...locally, nationally and globally. <br /> This the 4 ' day of December 2017. <br /> Mark Dorosin, Chair <br /> Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />