III.1. Proclamation Commemorating Juneteenth; Imihy
CITY OF HOPKINS
City Council Report 2024-069
To: Honorable Mayor and Council Members
Mike Mornson, City Manager
From: PeggySue Imihy, AICP, Special Projects and Initiatives Manager
Date: June 4, 2024
Subject: Proclamation Commemorating Juneteenth
_____________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDED ACTION
MOTION TO Adopt a Proclamation commemorating June 19th, 2024 as Juneteenth in
Hopkins.
OVERVIEW
Juneteenth has been observed on June 19th in various forms since 1866, one year after
news of President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation reached enslaved peoples in
Galveston, Texas.
Juneteenth was officially recognized as a federal holiday in 2021 and as a Minnesota
state holiday in 2023. In observance of this, City offices will be closed on the 19th.
Observance of Juneteenth celebrates the abolition of slavery in the United States, serves
as a reminder that the struggle for true freedom and equal rights did not end there but
continues to this day, and allows for celebration and recognition of the history,
accomplishments, and culture of our African-American neighbors.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
• Proclamation Commemorating Juneteenth
Administration
A Proclamation Commemorating
Juneteenth
WHEREAS, between 1861 and 1865, the United States fought a Civil War to preserve
the Union, responding to the traitorous secession of the Confederacy to continue its
economy dependent upon chattel slavery; and
WHEREAS, on January 1st, 1863, President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation went
into effect, paving the way for the abolition of slavery and the freedom of enslaved peoples
in the United States; and
WHEREAS, enforcement of the Proclamation finally reached Galveston, Texas with the
arrival of Major General Gordon Granger’s Union troops on June 19th, 1865; and
WHEREAS, the first observation of June 19th as a day of celebration came in 1866, and
has been celebrated in various forms since then, eventually becoming known as
Juneteenth, a portmanteau of “June” and “nineteenth”; and
WHEREAS, in 2021, Juneteenth became a federal holiday with the signing of the
Juneteenth National Independence Day Act; and
WHEREAS, the City of Hopkins wishes to recognize the history of the holiday, the
meaning it carries for our African-American staff and residents, and reflect upon the
struggles that were necessary to achieve freedom and equal rights; and
NOW THEREFORE, I, Patrick Hanlon, Mayor of the City of Hopkins in the State of
Minnesota, along with my fellow Council Members, recognize, adopt, and proclaim June
19, 2024 as Juneteenth in the City of Hopkins, and urge all residents to educate
themselves on the roots of the holiday and the significance it holds within the African -
American community.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set
my hand and caused the Seal of the City of
Hopkins, Minnesota to be affixed this 4th day of
June, 2024.
_______________________________________
Patrick Hanlon, Mayor