Speech and Testimony
County Executive Leggett’s Remarks at the Juneteenth Celebration
Black Rock Center for the Arts, 12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown
As prepared
Good evening! It is a pleasure to be with you this evening.
Tonight, we are celebrating Montgomery County’s 22nd Annual Juneteenth Celebration.
I want to recognize and thank all elected officials in attendance tonight.
Ladies and Gentlemen, as you know, Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. It is a day that often goes unnoticed and many people may not realize the significance.
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to end slavery, on paper, on January 1, 1863. A little more than two years later, on April 9, 1865, the Civil War ended.
During that era - a time when there was no Fox News, CNN or Twitter – the news traveled slowly.
Texas finally got the message on June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger and his troops arrived in Galveston and issued the order that slavery was no more – the very day we are here to celebrate today.
Despite the news, however, there was - and remains - a struggle for justice long after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. Many people continued to lead the fight. Our history is wrought with many unsung heroes who will never receive even a fraction of the approbation President Lincoln received … champions who made sure our voices are heard and the fire of our struggle was not lost in time.
In a few minutes, you will hear about the contributions of some of the champions – living legends - in our own community:
Sol Graham, Art Holmes, Samuel Hamilton and Harvey Zeigler; these special honorees have dedicated their lives to service and excellence in the African American community and throughout this County.
But first I want to thank our Director of Human Rights, Jim Stowe and the African American Advisory Group for putting this great program together.
Special thank you, also to the Black Rock Center for the Arts for hosting this celebration.
There are many things that make this a special evening but one thing you can always count here is good food. Thank you to Bob Green, the director of the County’s Department of Correction and Rehabilitation and their Culinary Work Release Program for their hard work to put together an authentic, delicious barbecue dinner that you will enjoy a little later.
I also want to thank the youth from the NAACP ACT-SO program and the special guest entertainers who are part of our program tonight.
And lastly, I want to thank each and every one of you for coming! Please enjoy what promises to be an inspiring and fun evening for us all.
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Release ID: 18-045
Friday, June 15; 6:30 p.m.