As we mirror on the importance of the Juneteenth vacation within the United States, I’m reminded of the time that I used to be honored to carry one of many previous couple of remaining copies of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by President Abraham Lincoln whereas visiting the Union League House in Philadelphia.
In 1864 President Lincoln traveled to Philadelphia and hand signed 40 copies of the Proclamation as a part of a fund elevating effort. The copies have been bought for $20 every, a hefty sum in 1864, to lift cash for the Sanitary Commission — a company which helped present help companies for troopers coming back from the Civil War. A small variety of the signed copies are recognized to have survived.
Holding the doc that Lincoln known as “…the great event of the 19th century” was a transferring, transformative expertise for me.
As Dr. Martin Luther King described throughout his 1963 “I have a Dream” speech “…this momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope for millions of negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.”
With this doc and the stroke of a pen, President Lincoln declared that “…all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.”
On Juneteenth, we commemorate the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. We really feel the gravity of the revelation that information of the proclamation was stored from so many — the final of whom discovered that they have been “finally free” in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. We honor those that endured withering injustice and we rejoice the dignity, the perseverance, and the braveness of the African American tradition.
“Holding the document that Lincoln referred to as ‘…the great event of the 19th century’ was a moving, transformative experience for me.”
I consider one of the best ways to protect the legacy of Juneteenth and the facility of the Emancipation Proclamation is to proceed to shine that “great beacon light of hope” on the subsequent steps of our journey.
The energy of proclamation is one thing I mirror on each day in my work as Cisco’s Chief Social Impact Officer. Proclamations are greater than phrases. They have the facility to alter the course of historical past. Cisco’s goal — to Power an Inclusive Future for All — is a proclamation. So are our Social Justice Beliefs and the 12 actions we’re taking to drive lasting, generational change by addressing inequities, breaking down obstacles, and creating extra inclusive alternatives for individuals to thrive. Our actions are making substantial influence. Now, we’re exploring new methods to go additional — sooner.
“I believe the best way to preserve the legacy of Juneteenth and the power of the Emancipation Proclamation is to continue to shine that ‘great beacon light of hope’ on the next steps of our journey.”
Many of Cisco’s leaders are sharing their views on “Freedom Day” — together with Maria Martinez on Empowering Historically Black Colleges and Universities by our Social Justice commitments and the influence we’re making at Clark Atlanta University.
Here’s wishing Cisco — the African American neighborhood — and the nation a Happy Juneteenth.
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