For City Council Meeting [June 13, 2023]
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
APPROVAL: Arron Brown, Acting City Manager
FROM: Shama P. Curian, Director of Human Resources & Risk Management
Title
Request City Council to Adopt Resolution No. 8088, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Rialto Establishing Juneteenth National Independence Day, A Federal Holiday, to be an Officially Observed Holiday for the City of Rialto.
Body
BACKGROUND
Juneteenth, or "Juneteenth National Independence Day", commemorates and celebrates the historical significance of June 19, where on that day in 1865, more than 2 years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, enslaved Americans in Galveston, Texas finally received word that they were free, to mark the end of slavery in the United States of America.
One of General Gordon Granger's first orders of business was to read to the people of Texas the "General Order Number 3" after which, established tradition and the Juneteenth celebration was instituted. General Order Number 3 began:
"The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property, between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor."
Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery and is celebrated annually as a historical and memorable tribute to our country's African American Heritage.
DISCUSSION
On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the "Juneteenth National Independence Day Act" into law, which designated Juneteenth National Independence Day as a legal Federal Holiday and is observed annually on June 19th.
Mayor Deborah Robertson requested that City Staff review and present for City Council consideration the recognition and establishment of Juneteenth ...
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