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WHEREAS , by 1900 , Juneteenth had unofficially become Texas Emancipation Day and was <br /> sponsored by black churches and civic organizations ; and <br /> WHEREAS , with the migration of African Americans from Texas to the West Coast , <br /> especially during World War II , Juneteenth grew in the emerging black communities of Los <br /> Angeles , San Diego , and Oakland in California ; Portland , Oregon ; and Seattle , Washington ; <br /> and <br /> WHEREAS , activists in the 1980s began to advocate for wider recognition of the Juneteenth <br /> Holiday ; and <br /> WHEREAS , Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth a state holiday ; and <br /> WHEREAS , by June 2020 , 47 states and the District of Columbia had established either full <br /> or partial recognition of the holiday — only Hawaii , North Dakota , and South Dakota have not ; <br /> and <br /> WHEREAS , Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of <br /> slavery in the United States ; and <br /> WHEREAS , Juneteenth has been declared a paid holiday by the governing bodies of Orange <br /> County , Town of Chapel Hill , the Town of Carrboro , the Town of Hillsborough , the Orange <br /> County Schools District and the Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools District ; and <br /> WHEREAS , the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution , which was passed <br /> by Congress on January 31 , 1865 , and ratified by the required 27 of the then 36 states on <br /> December 6 , 1865 , and proclaimed on December 18 , 1865 , abolished slavery and <br /> involuntary servitude , except as punishment for a crime ; and <br /> WHEREAS , we recognize that while the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th <br /> amendment may have officially ended the legal practice of enslaving human beings in the <br /> United States of America , one hundred and fifty six years later , there is still progress which <br /> must be made to dismantle the insidious systems and practices which continue to harm Black <br /> people and deny them access to the rights and resources to which they are entitled ; <br /> NOW THEREFORE BE IT PROCLAIMED , that we , the Orange County Board of <br /> Commissioners , honor the perseverance and hope that inspired African Americans to <br /> celebrate freedom , to look for lost relatives , and to thrive in a hostile and white supremacist <br /> environment , and recognize Juneteenth as an important date in American history . <br /> BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we honor the legacy of Juneteenth by building a more <br /> equitable future for our children , our children ' s children , and their children and we will <br /> continue to advocate and work to that end . <br /> This the 6th day of June , 2023 . <br /> 17 <br /> ezetta edford , C it <br /> s ',, �+ . xy range County Board of Commissioners <br />