Jun19

much to celebrate on Juneteenth.

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  Barack Obama Presidential Center opens to the public on Juneteenth

Chicago, Illinois,USA

 

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. It marks the day in 1865 when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to ensure all enslaved people were freed, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, finally enforcing the freedom of 250,000 freed enslaved Black Texans.

“Our Nation is stronger because of the generations of struggles for equal rights and social justice, and our culture is richer because of the contributions of African Americans throughout our history. This is why Juneteenth, while rooted in the history of a people, can be celebrated by all Americans.” – Barack Obama – 2010 

On the tower of the new Obama Presidential Center the message reads:

“You are America. Unconstrained by habit and convention. Unencumbered by what is, ready to seize what ought to be. For everywhere in this country, there are first steps to be taken, there is new ground to cover, there are more bridges to be crossed. America is not the project of any one person. The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word ‘We.’ ‘We the People.’ ‘We Shall Overcome.’ ‘Yes We Can.’ That word is owned by no one. It belongs to everyone. Oh, what a glorious task we are given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours.”- Barack Obama

 

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source credits: brittanica, history.com, the Obama Foundation, IPM, Chicago Tribune

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10 responses »

  1. I only saw a tiny bit of the ceremony yesterday (Juneteenth Eve?), but HCR read parts of Michelle Obama’s speech last night in her Politics Chat. I’m going to try to catch some clips today. What a lineup of talent!

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  2. What a difference between two presidents. One made people proud of America, the other makes many people feel ashamed of what is happening to their country.
    Best wishes, Pete.

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  5. Thank you for this! I’ve seen several film segments of the speeches and other events at the opening of the presidential center in the past couple of days. But I never knew about this quote until you cited it here – so powerful!

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