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Res No 109-16-14664RESOLUTION NO.109-16-14664 A Resolution of theCity of SouthMiamiin support of the Juneteenth Event sponsored by South Miami Community Redevelopment Agency (SMCRA). WHEREAS,Juneteenth,alsoknownasJuneteenthIndependenceDay,FreedomDay,or Emancipation Day,isa holiday inthe United States that commemorates the announcement ofthe abolition of slavery intheU.S.StateofTexasinJune 1865 andmore generally the emancipation of African- American slaves throughout the Confederate South;and WHEREAS,in1979,Al Edwards,anAfrican American Texasstate legislator authoredand sponsored abill,makingJune19 ("Juneteenth")astatepaidholidayinTexas.Thesuccessfulpassageofthis billmarkedJuneteenthasthefirstemancipationcelebrationthatwasgrantedofficialstaterecognition;and WHEREAS,JuneteenthcelebratedonJune19,thetermisaportmanteau of Juneandnineteenth andis recognized asastate holiday or special day of observance in43states;and WHEREAS,Juneteenth isaday of reflection,aday of renewal,a pride-filled day.Itisa moment intime taken to appreciate theAfricanAmericanexperience,while encouraging continuous self- development and respect forallcultures.Itisinclusive of allraces,ethnicities and nationalities;and WHEREAS,SMCRA is sponsoring a Juneteenth Special Event on Saturday,June 18,2016 with activities that include a ceremonial bikeride,a recognition breakfast,a history reading ceremony and related entertainment. NOW,THEREFORE,BE RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSIONERS OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI,FLORIDA THAT: Section 1.TheCity of SouthMiamiherebysupportsthe Juneteenth Event tobeheldonSaturday, June 18,2016 in the SMCRA area. Section 2.Severability.If anysectionclause,sentence,orphrase of thisresolutionisforany reasonheldinvalidorunconstitutionalbyacourt of competentjurisdiction,theholdingshallnotaffectthe validity of the remaining portions of thisresolution. Section 3.Effective Date.Thisresolutionshallbecomeeffectiveimmediatelyuponadoptionby vote of the City Commission. PASSEDANDADOPTEDthis7 th day of June ,2016. CITY CLERK Qi^^^f^^ READAND APPROVED ASTOFORM, LANGUAffi^EGALIl EXEGtZ3H0NTHEREC Page 1 of 1 APPROVED: ?/dke# MAYOR COMMISSION VOTE:5-0 MayorStoddard:yea Vice Mayor Welsh:yea Commissioner Harris:yea Commissioner Edmond:Yea Commissioner Liebman:Yea W SMCRA 'Mating our Neighborhood a CreatPhce to live,ttbrft andPfa/" To:Honorable Chair and Date:May 16,2016 SMCRA Board Members From:Stephen David,}ITEM No xu SMCRA Director//JUNETEENTH SPECIAL EVENT This year's annual Juneteenth event is scheduled for June 18,2016.During the 2014-2015 fiscal year,the SMCRA and other local organizations assisted in facilitating the annual event. The Juneteenth celebration isa national recognition of the original announcement of the abolition of slaveryin June of1865(See ExhibitA).This year's event activities will include a ceremonial bike ride,a recognition breakfast,a history reading ceremony and related entertainment (See Exhibit B). Attachments: Juneteenth Historical Information June 18,2016 Juneteenth Flyer SD/MCGRUFF\PLANNIN6\CRA\Juneteenth Special EvenLdoc EXHIBIT A Juneteenth Historical information JUNETEENTH From Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia Jumpto:navigation,search This articleisaboutthe holiday.For the work by Ralph Ellison,see Juneteenth (novel). Juneteenth,alsoknownas Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day,isa holiday that commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas in June 1865,andmoregenerallytheemancipation of African-Americanslaves throughout theConfederateSouth.CelebratedonJune 19,thetermisaportmanteau ofJune and nineteentlF^and is recognized as a state holiday or special day of observance in most stetes)citationneededl Theholidayisobservedprimarilyinlocalcelebrations.Traditions includepublic readings of the Emancipation Proclamation,singingtraditionalsongssuchas "Swing Low.Sweet Chariot"and "Lift Every Voice and Sing",and readings by noted African- American writers such as Ralph Ellison and Maya Angelou.121 Celebrations may include parades,rodeos,streetfairs,cookouts,familyreunions,park parties,historical reenactments,orMissJuneteenth contests.1^ History Ashton Villa,fromwhosefrontbalcony General Order#3wasreadonJune19,1865 During the American Civil War.President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22,1862,withan effective dateof January 1,1863.It declared all slaves tobe freed inthe Confederate States of America in rebellion and not in Union hands(this excluded Maryland,Delaware,Tennessee,"West"and Southeast Virginia and lower Louisiana,which were occupied bythe Union).It also announced that the Union wouldstart recruiting former slaves and free blacks toserveinthe military and recruitment began inthe spring of 1863.Slaves often escaped to Union lines for protection and many began to serve inthe military.In some areas,contraband camps were setupto house the freedmen temporarily,as well asstart schools andput adults to work.Lincolnhadurgedthe governments intheBorderStates,whichhadremainedin theUnion,tofreetheirslavesunderasystem of gradual abolition butnonedidso.Those slaves were not emancipated untilthe end of the war. Evenwhenslavesgained freedom,thiswasa difficult era.Conditions in contraband campswere crowded,withpoor sanitation,as existed inmostmilitary encampments.Just as more soldiers on both sides died of disease rather than wounds,because of the social disruptionfromthe war andgeneral harsh conditions,many former slavesdied of disease in the years from 1862 to 18705 including from a smallpox epidemic.13 Moreisolated geographically,Texaswasnotabattleground,andthusitsslaveswerenot affected by the Emancipation Proclamation unless they escaped.^Planters and other slaveholdershad migrated intoTexasfromeasternstatesto escape thefighting,andmany broughttheirslaveswiththem,increasingbythethousandsthe number of slavesinthe stateattheend of theCivil War.13 By 1865,there were an estimated 250,000 slaves in Texas.^As news ofendofthe war movedslowly,itdid not reachTexasuntilMay 1865,andthe Army of the Trans- Mississippi did not surrender until June 2.ia On June 18,1865,Union General Gordon GrangerarrivedatGalvestonIslandwith2,000federaltroopstooccupyTexason behalf of the federal government.151 On June 19,standing on the balcony of Galveston's Ashton Villa,Grangerreadaloudthecontentsof"GeneralOrderNo,3",announcingthetotal emancipation of slaves: The people of Texas are informed that,in accordance witha proclamation from the Executive of the United States,allslavesarefree.Thisinvolvesanabsolute equality of personalrightsand rights of propertybetweenformermastersandslaves,andthe connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer andhired labor.Thefreedmenareadvisedtoremainquietlyattheir present homesandworkfor wages.Theyare informed thattheywillnotbeallowedtocollectatmilitarypostsand that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.13 EmancipationDaycelebrationinRichmond,Virginiain 1905 Formerslavesin Galveston rejoiced inthe streets afterthe announcement,although inthe years afterward many struggled towork through the changes against resistance of whites. But,thefollowingyear,freedmenorganizedthe first of whatbecameannualcelebrations of Juneteenth in Texas.181 Barred in some cities from using public parks because of state- sponsored segregation of facilities,acrossparts of Texas,freedpeoplepooledtheir funds topurchaselandtoholdtheir celebrations,suchas Houston's Emancipation Park,Mexia's Booker T.Washington Park,and Emancipation Park in Austin.12^ Intheearly20thcentury,economicand political forcesledtoadeclineinJuneteenth celebrations.From 1890 to 1908,TexasandallformerConfederatestatespassednew constitutionsoramendmentsthateffectively disenfranchised blacks,excluding them from thepoliticalprocess.White-dominated state legislatures passedJimCrowlawsimposing second-class status.The GreatDepressionforcedmanyblacks off farmsandinto the citiestofindwork.Intheseurban environments,AfricanAmericanshaddifficultytaking theday off tocelebrate.From1940through1970,inthesecondwave of theGreat Migration,morethan5millionblacksleftTexas,Louisianaandotherparts of theSouth fortheNorthandWestCoast,where jobs wereavailableinthedefenseindustryfor WorldWarII.As historian IsabelWilkersonwrites,"Hie people fromTexastook Juneteenth Day to Los Angeles,Oakland,Seattle,and other places they went."121 By the 1950s and 1960s,the Civil Rights movement focused the attention of African- American youthonthe struggle for racial equalityandthefuture.But,many linked these struggles tothe historical struggles of theirancestors.Following the1968 Poor People's CampaigntoWashington,D.C.called byRev.RalphAbernathv.manyattendees returned home and initiated Juneteenth celebrations inareas where the day was not previously celebrated. Sincethe1980sand 1990s,the holiday hasbeenmore widely celebrated among African- Americancommunities.In1994agroupofcommunityleadersgatheredatChristian UnityBaptistChurchinNew Orleans,Louisiana toworkforgreaternationalcelebration of Juneteenth.1^Paul Herring Chairman of The Juneteenth Committee credits Mrs.E. HillDeloney(CommunityMatriarch)forstartingthecelebrationinFlint,Michiganinthe late1980s;ashe said,M...It'satimetoReflect&Rejoice,because wearethechildren of those who chose to survive."1111 Juneteenth informal observance have spread to many otherstates,includingPortland,Maine,inpartcarriedbyTexans.Expatriateshave celebrateditincities abroad,suchasParis.SomeUSmilitarybasesinothercountries sponsor celebrations,in addition to those ofprivate groups.11111121 Organizations suchastheNational Juneteenth Observance Foundationareworking toward gaining Congressional approval to designate Juneteenth asa national dayof observance.121 Others are working to have its 150th anniversary celebrated worldwide. Juneteenth Event Flyer (June 18,2016) EXHIBIT B sJunetfeenth" Freedom Rtye /Festival When- thJune18tn 2016 WhereMadisonSquaresite [corner of Southwest 59place&64 Street) Time 10 AM-6PM Music Fun Bike Freedom Ride Opening of event History of Juneteenth Entertainment Close out Event Information Event Schedule 10 AM -10:45 11 AM 11:15—11:30 ..12noon—5:30PM 5:30PM~6PM Join us on this symbolic Ride Churches-Schools-Group-contact Lew Kellv 786-423-5776