of Nortij Carolina
PAT McCRORY
GOVERNOR
JUNETEENTH NATIONAL FREEDOM DAY
2013
BY THE GOV ERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
A PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, Juneteenth commemorates the day freedom was proclaimed to all slaves by Union General
Gordon Granger, on June 19, 1 865, in Galveston, Texas, more than two and a half years after the signing of the
Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln; and
WHEREAS, former slaves in Texas began to observe June 1 9 as the anniversary of their emancipation
and coined the term "Juneteenth"; and
WHEREAS, Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in
the United States, and is also known as "Juneteenth National Freedom Day," "Emancipation Day," and "African
American Independence Day"; and
WHEREAS, Juneteenth commemorates the survival, strength and determination of African-Americans
through extreme adversity, hardship and triumph; and today emphasizes African-American education, culture,
art, history and achievement; and
WHEREAS, the nineteenth of June, along with the fourth of July, completes the cycle of freedom for
Independence Day observances in America; and
WHEREAS, forty-one states, including North Carolina, recognize the nineteenth day of June as
Juneteenth National Freedom Day, to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States and to demonstrate
racial reconciliation and healing from the legacy of slavery;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, PAT McCRORY, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby
proclaim June 19, 2013, as “JUNETEENTH NATIONAL FREEDOM DAY” in North Carolina, and
commend its observance to all citizens.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of
North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this fourth day of June in the year of our Lord two thousand and
thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.
