IN THE COUNTY LEGISLATURE OF JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI
Title
AN ORDINANCE repealing section 1401., Jackson County Code, 1984, relating to county holidays, to add a paid holiday to honor the Juneteenth commemoration and encouraging County associates to participate in a day of service to celebrate the day.
Intro
ORDINANCE NO. 5513, June 7, 2021
INTRODUCED BY Jalen Anderson, Dan Tarwater III, Ronald E. Finley, Crystal Williams, Tony Miller, Scott Burnett, Charlie Franklin, Jeanie Lauer, and Theresa Cass Galvin, County Legislators
Body
WHEREAS, Juneteenth is one of the oldest known celebrations commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States; and,
WHEREAS, the first Juneteenth parades, held in Washington, D.C., annually from 1866 until 1901 and revived in 2002, celebrated the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia by the United States Congress, which occurred eight months before the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln; and,
WHEREAS, Juneteenth is traditionally known as a cultural event that celebrates the emancipation of slaves in America, even though not all enslaved persons were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation; and,
WHEREAS, three regiments of United States Colored Troops entered the Rio Grande Valley in the fall of 1864, long before Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, in June 1865 to issue General Order No. 3, announcing the end of the Civil War and the emancipation of all formerly enslaved people; and,
WHEREAS, Juneteenth was brought from Texas to Jackson County in 1980 by Horace M. Peterson III, founder of the Black Archives of Mid-America-Kansas City, as an annual heritage celebration and platform that recognizes the emancipation of enslaved Africans in America and pays tribute to the Black founders and important citizens of Jackson County; and,
WHEREAS, JuneteenthKC is celebrating its 10th Anniversary of continuing the legacy of Horace and Barbara Peterson; and,
WHER...
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