Page 13 - Making Juneteenth News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Adults said a lot. let me start with your reaction to what we are about to watch, juneteenth becoming a federal holiday? >> i certainly think this is an important moment of reckoning, an important moment where this nation now will have an opportunity to learn even more about this important history that african-americans have faced. it's a moment that creates a more sense of inclusion, you know. a lot of black americans don't feel included on our independence day as a nation because so many of our ancestors were not free. we can't forget it's a ceremony, and holidays are points of recognition a...

Here in a house built by enslaved people. we are footsteps away from where president abraham lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation, and we are here to witness president joe biden establish juneteenth as a national holiday. we have come far, and we have far to go. today is a day of celebration, and it's a also a day of pride and it's also a day for kamalakamala. and with that say i say happy juneteenth, everybody. and with that i introduce the president of the united states, joe biden. [ applause ]

Still face injustice and equity in our world, and we have to have a life commitment to make a reality genuinely equal for all americans, and in this case for black americans. >> bernice, i want to ask you about that poll that victor just read. this year has been a humbling experience for many white folks, myself included and how woefully uninformed we are about major historical moments, between juneteenth and the tulsa wall street massacre, and little has been known, and how do we change that? >> those of us who were involved in the work of raising awareness and educating have to be consistent...

The awareness because it's a moment where there will be a concentration of energy in that regard. we can't neglect the fact that while people are catching up on the educational side, we still have to do the legislative work of ending police brutality and ending housing discrimination, and stopping health care disparities, and eradicating education, and all these things we are still not liberated from in the black community. >> for juneteenth to become a holiday was unanimous in the senate, and not in the house. there were 14 gop members who voted against the bill, and i wonder when you look at...

Mistakes we made. and remembering those moments, we begin to heal and grow stronger. the truth is, it's not simply not enough to commemorate juneteenth. after all, the emancipation of enslaved african americans marked the beginning, not the end. to honor a true means of juneteenth, we have to continue toward that promise because we have not gotten there yet. the vice president and i and our entire administration and all of you in this room are committed to doing just that. that's why we've launched an aggressive effort to combat racial discrimination in housing. finally addressed the cruel fac...