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From the office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton:

“Ahead of Juneteenth, on Saturday, the holiday commemorating the end of slavery two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and a day after the House passed a bill establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today introduced a bill to authorize the establishment of a memorial on federal land in the District of Columbia to honor enslaved individuals who disembarked at the Georgetown waterfront. The commemorative work, to be established by the Georgetown African American Historic Landmark Project and Tour, would honor the enslaved individuals’ presence, celebrate their contributions to history and recognize their resilience and fortitude.

“This week, we recognize Juneteenth, which marks the arrival of the news of emancipation to enslaved African Americans in Confederate-controlled Texas–two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued–the final end of slavery in the United States,” Norton said. “Juneteenth celebrates the culmination of the long struggle for freedom from bondage in the United States. This monumental event prompts us to reflect on the past and look to the future. This bill provides for the creation of a powerful marker of truth-telling and remembrance. Let us honor the personhood of these individuals, who were repeatedly assumed to have none, so that they will never be forgotten.”

Norton’s introductory statement follows. (more…)