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Legislators Earl & Stilley: Juneteenth Celebrates Freedom And Reminds Us Of The Ongoing Need To Make Changes 

Rockland County Legislators Toney L. Earl and Dana G. Stilley said that while Juneteenth is certainly a day to celebrate, it is also a day to refocus attention on the work that still needs to be done.

“I was honored to propose legislation to mark Juneteenth in Rockland County even before the state and federal holidays were set aside,” Legislator Earl said. “But Juneteenth is not only a day to celebrate freedom. It is also a day to recommit ourselves to ensuring that everyone in America has the same freedoms.”

Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19 each year, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.

Shockingly and cruelly, it wasn’t until more than two years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation that enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, first learned of the executive orders, from Union troops on June 19, 1865.

Legislator Stilley said too many people are unaware of America’s true history when it comes to enslaved peoples, including enslavement that occurred in Rockland County.

“It is only through education and sharing accurate history that we will learn from our past and make changes so that everyone in America experiences equality in all endeavors,” Legislator Stilley said. “While Black Americans are told they are free, too many still don’t have equal or adequate access to a quality education, housing, good jobs, and good health care.”

The Rockland County Legislature declared June 19 as Juneteenth Day in Rockland County on an annual basis for many years but voted in July of 2020 to make it a permanent annual observance.

“We must continue to reject racism in all its forms and to demand real changes so that the freedom promised not only in the Emancipation Proclamation, but in the Declaration of Independence itself, is a reality for Black Americans and all others who call this country home,” Legislator Earl said.

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