O'Fallon Democrats Club

On June 19, 1865, news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached Texas, where the vile and abhorrent practice of slavery was still in full swing two years after President Lincoln declared all enslaved persons officially free. Finally, slavery’s end was the law of the land everywhere across the country.

This day of historic celebration and remembrance wasn’t officially made a federal holiday until 2021.

I stand with all who commemorate today as both that celebration of progress and also the reminder that as a country, there is still much that we can work on, and together, we will.