Minnetonka City Council Issues Juneteenth Proclamation

Press release from the City of Minnetonka:

June 17, 2021

The Minnetonka City Council has issued a proclamation declaring June 19, 2021 as Juneteenth. The proclamation urges all citizens "to become more aware of the significance of this celebration in African American history and continue to work toward racial equity and realization of the full promise of emancipation." The council's proclamation was made the same week President Joe Biden signed a bill, passed by Congress, to set aside Juneteenth, or June 19, as a federal holiday.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas. The Emancipation Proclamation had officially freed slaves two years earlier, but news of emancipation had spread slowly. Juneteenth marks our country’s second Independence Day, celebrating freedom and justice and emphasizing education, achievement and tolerance.

Juneteenth is the first new federal holiday issued since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.

More information

• Minnetonka Juneteenth Proclamation
• Juneteenth - Hennepin County Library
• Juneteenth Resources - eLibrary Minnesota
• Resources on Juneteeth - Stanford Libraries
• What is Juneteenth - PBS Video

This press release was produced by the City of Minnetonka. The views expressed here are the author’s own.