2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
LRB-3783/1
CMH:klm
June 27, 2025 - Introduced by Senators Drake, L. Johnson, Carpenter, Dassler-Alfheim, Habush Sinykin, Hesselbein, Hutton, Keyeski, Larson, Pfaff, Ratcliff, Roys, Smith, Spreitzer, Tomczyk, Wall and Wanggaard, cosponsored by Representatives Haywood, Taylor, Arney, Stubbs, Moore Omokunde, Madison, Goodwin, Rivera-Wagner, Allen, Anderson, Bare, Billings, Brown, Clancy, Cruz, DeSmidt, Doyle, Emerson, Fitzgerald, Hong, Hysell, J. Jacobson, Joers, Kirsch, Mayadev, McCarville, Miresse, Neubauer, O'Connor, Ortiz-Velez, Palmeri, Phelps, Prado, Roe, Sheehan, Sinicki, Snodgrass, Spaude, Subeck, Stroud, Tenorio and Udell. Referred to Committee on Senate Organization.
SJR74,1,1
1Relating to: recognizing June 19, 2025, as Juneteenth Day in Wisconsin. SJR74,1,52Whereas, Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the 3ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th 4that Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, 5Texas, with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free; and SJR74,1,126Whereas, this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s 7Emancipation Proclamation, which had become official on January 1, 1863. The 8Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on Texans due to the minimal 9number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the 10surrender of General Lee in April 1865 and the arrival of General Granger’s 11regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the 12resistance; and SJR74,2,913Whereas, attempts to explain this two-and-a-half-year delay in the receipt of 14this important news have yielded several versions that have been handed down
1through the years. Often told is the story of a messenger who was murdered on his 2way to Texas with the news of freedom. Another is that the news was deliberately 3withheld by the enslavers to maintain the labor force on plantations. Another 4claims that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits 5of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation 6Proclamation. All or none of these versions could be true. Certainly, for some, 7President Lincoln’s authority over the rebellious states was in question. For 8whatever the reasons, conditions in Texas remained status quo well beyond what 9was statutory; and SJR74,2,1310Whereas, slavery in the United States lasted over 250 years and enslaved 11millions of African Americans in horrific conditions throughout all regions in the 12United States, including in Wisconsin, where hundreds of slaves were held illegally; 13and SJR74,2,1514Whereas, Juneteenth Day is observed at some level in every state in the nation 15and was made a federal holiday on June 17, 2021; and SJR74,2,1916Whereas, Juneteenth Day has come to signify a celebration of African 17American freedom, achievement, and history. This holiday brings the African 18American community and persons of all races together in the fight for equality, and 19it is important as legislators to promote solidarity in this effort; and SJR74,3,220Whereas, Wisconsin has one of the nation’s oldest and longest-running 21Juneteenth celebrations due to Milwaukee’s first celebration in 1971, which began 22when then-Northcott staff member Margaret Rogers told others how much she had 23enjoyed a Juneteenth Day celebration in Georgia. Based on Rogers’s experience, 24Northcott decided to begin a similar tradition in Milwaukee—spearheaded in its
1early days by festival executive director Marvin Hannah and coordinator Jan Kemp-2Cole—and the festival soon became the unofficial opening of summer; and SJR74,3,53Whereas, Juneteenth Day is typically celebrated in ways such as public 4readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, educational activities, parades, 5community festivals, and family gatherings; and SJR74,3,106Whereas, Juneteenth Day provides a time for a reflection on the history of the 7institution of slavery in the United States and Wisconsin, provides an opportunity 8to educate Americans about the history of slavery and emancipation, and provides 9an occasion to celebrate the continuing advancement of African Americans and 10freedom in the United States; now, therefore, be it SJR74,3,1211Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the legislature 12hereby proclaims June 19, 2025, as Juneteenth Day in Wisconsin.
