| Albuquerque, June 17—RPNM wholeheartedly supports a bill establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Yesterday Congress passed the legislation 415-14 to make that day “Juneteenth National Independence Day.” Juneteenth recognizes June 19th, 1865 when Union soldiers brought news of freedom to enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas. This was two months after the Confederacy had surrendered. The following is a statement from Stephanie Kennedy, Director of RPNM’s Communities of Color Christian Conservative Group, the Party’s minority engagement group in New Mexico: “Today is a momentous time in history, as Congress voted to make Juneteenth a national holiday. Juneteenth gives rise to the emancipation of enslaved people in Texas on June 19, 1865 and more broadly to the end of slavery in our nation. The Republican Party has always stood for freedom and equality for all. This holiday will commemorate an important part of our history, and with the growing social unrest in American society, it also marks a time for realizing that we all are people of color. Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.’” |
| The Republican Party of New Mexico (RPNM) advances the ideals of individual liberties for the advancement of its citizens and the greater prosperity of our communities throughout New Mexico. Led by an Executive Board and its Chairman, former NM Congressman Steve Pearce, RPNM serves all New Mexicans via its headquarters in Albuquerque and can be contacted at (505) 298-3662. |
