HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 06111991 - 1.23 " T BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
FRCM: Harry D. Cisterman, Director of Personnel c It
By: Eileen K. Bitten, Assistant Director of Personnel
Coosta
DATE: June 4, 1991 01*
SUBJECT: Declaring June 15, 1991 as "Juneteenth and Family Day"
in Contra Costa County
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATION
Staff ` requests the Board of Supervisors proclaim June 15, 1991 as
"Juneteenth and Family Day" in Contra Costa County. Draft resolution is
attached.
BACKGROUND
On January 1, 1863 , President. Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation
Proclamation. The last battle of the Civil War took place in Texas on
May 13 , 1865 (it took the Yankees that long to convince their Southern
foe that the war had ended on April 9, 1865) . Major General Gordon
Granger, with 1,800 soldiers, arrived in Galveston, Texas on June 18,
1865 to take command of the District of Texas. The next day, June 19,
from his headquarters in the Osterman Building at the corner of Strand
and 22nd Street, the lives of countless Texans, starting with a quarter
of a million Black slaves, changed.
"The people are informed that in accordance with the proclamation issued
from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. . . . . . "
The next year, Texas Blacks remembered June 19, 1865 as their own
personal emancipation day and celebrations were organized. From
Galveston to the Red River, former slaves marched and celebrated.
Newspapers in Houston reported that thousands of American flags waved as
the Blacks paraded down Main Street to the strains of a brass band. The
Waco Examiner gave evidence that the Blacks of that city "celebrated in
a very becoming manner about 2,000 men, women and children of color" .
In other cities and towns, June 19 became known as. Freedman' s Day.
In compliance with the congressional mandate, Texas convened its
constitutional convention June 1, 1868 with nine elected Black
delegates; George T. Ruby, W. Johnson, J. McWashington, Ben O. Watrous,
C. W. Bryant, S. Curtis, M. Kendall, R. Long and George Klappenback.
Sheppard Mullins was subsequently elected to fill the vacancy created by
the death of George Klappenback.
X
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: _ YES SIGNATURE;
i
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURES :
ACTION OF BOARD ON June 11,_ 1991. APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER _
IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that Resolution No. .91/377 is ADOPTED, proclaiming
June 15, 1991 as Juneteenth and Family Day in Contra Costa County.
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
1 HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TARN
AYES; NOES. AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
ABSENT; ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
cc: Personnel Department ATTESTED June 11, 19.91
County Administrator PHIL BATCHELOR. CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
SUP RVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
BY. a ,DEPUTY
M382/7-83
Board of Supervisors Page 2 June 4, 1991
The first Texas Emancipation Day was celebrated on June 19, 1869 and
Lottie Brown was the first "Juneteenth Queen" .
The 20th Century brought a change to the celebrations and. Juneteenth
became a day for picnics and barbecues, baseball games and reunions, but
it was still recognized as an informal holiday. With the passage of the
civil rights laws of the 19601s, the day lost even this significance.
Local groups kept Juneteenth traditions alive and the past two decades
have seen a revival of interest in Black History. In 1979, the passage
of Texas H.B. 1016 names June 19 Black Heritage Day and it became an
official State holiday.