WHEREAS, on September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, officially ending slavery in the United States; and

WHEREAS, the freedom of most slaves depended on the advancement of the Union Army led by General Gordon Granger, who enforced the President’s order in Texas on June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed; and

WHEREAS, since 1865, African Americans have celebrated Juneteenth to commemorate the day freedom was proclaimed to all slaves in the South by General Granger two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed; and

WHEREAS, this historic moment would not have been possible without the courage and sacrifice of the nearly 200,000 former enslaved and free African Americans who fought for freedom and liberty alongside more than 2 million Union servicemembers; and

WHEREAS, Juneteenth commemorates the strength and determination of African Americans who were first brought to American soil in the hulls of slave ships traveling the trade route known as the “Middle Passage” and celebrates the rich heritage and accomplishments of African-Americans in our country; and

WHEREAS, in accordance with 1 M.R.S. §150-H, the third Saturday in June of each year is designated as Juneteenth Independence Day to commemorate the day freedom was proclaimed to all slaves in the South by Union General Gordon Granger in 1865, 2 1/2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed; and

WHEREAS, the state of Maine and federal government have also designated June 19 as holiday in observance of Juneteenth, and all nonessential state and federal offices are closed;

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the great State of Maine, do hereby proclaim June 17, 2023 as

Juneteenth

throughout the State of Maine and I urge all citizens to recommit themselves to defending the self-evident truth as declared by our founders that all people are created equal.

In testimony whereof, I have caused  the Great Seal of the State to be  hereunto affixed GIVEN under my  hand at Augusta this fourteenth day  of June Two Thousand Twenty-Three