MI SR0127

Commemorates June 19, 2020, as Juneteenth, marking the date in 1865 when Texas became the last state to recognize enslaved persons as free, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

Acknowledges the history of the transatlantic slave trade and slavery in the United States from 1619 through 1865, and recognizes major industries that profited from slavery including maritime, agricultural, tobacco, sugar, and cotton industries.

Recognizes Michigan's role as a major hub of the Underground Railroad and home to white abolitionists including U.S. Representative and Senator Jacob Merritt Howard, and institutions like the Second Baptist Church of Detroit that freed thousands of enslaved persons.

Acknowledges that African Americans continue to experience vestiges of slavery including challenges with voting rights, inadequate public education, lack of access to capital, police brutality, and other social and economic injustices.

Encourages all Michigan citizens to educate themselves and future generations about the history of slavery to ensure this tragedy is never forgotten or repeated.