(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he has issued a proclamation declaring June 19, 2021 to be Juneteenth Day in Connecticut and also released the following statement:
“Juneteenth is an important day in our nation. When, on June 19, 1865, Union Army General Gordon Granger declared that every Black man, woman, and child was free by reading General Order No. 3 in the recently liberated Texas, it meant that the United States could seek redemption from its original sin of slavery and begin living up to its founding ideals. One hundred and fifty-six years later, we still have much work to do.
“The wellbeing of our multicultural democracy today and the future of the American experiment is dependent upon every citizen civically participating in society. But if every citizen doesn’t enjoy the same blessings of freedom and equal justice before the law, that isn’t possible. In Connecticut, we have worked in a bipartisan way to make investments that are designed to attempt to reverse the trends of the past and help to lift our communities. We must recognize as elected officials that our work is not finished and will likely never be finished when it comes to addressing equity, which makes it incumbent upon all of us to keep up the fight.
“While reaching our highest American ideals may seem more unlikely than ever, recognizing days like Juneteenth will be how we rebuild and regain a collective sense of who we are as communities, cities, states, and most importantly, one nation. Honoring and celebrating Juneteenth is a reaffirmation that a democratic society is not great because it is the perfect way to govern people, but because people have the ability to fix the imperfections of government and create a stronger, fairer, and more just future.”
**Download: Governor Lamont’s proclamation declaring June 19, 2021 to be Juneteenth Day in Connecticut