The entire nation has been having a serious conversation about race and civil rights in recent weeks, and, at the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Thursday, June 18 meeting, the board acknowledged that discussion in several ways – including a move at the very beginning of the meeting.
Guilford County Commissioner Carlvena Foster, one of three African-American commissioners on the nine-member board, read a resolution celebrating the end of slavery.
Foster was also out and about on the following night at a major Juneteenth celebration in High Point.
At the June 18 meeting, the resolution recounted the end of the Civil War on April 9, 1865, when US Army General Gordan Granger arrived in Texas and issued General Order No. 3 on June 19 of that year.
That order declared all slaves free.
“Whereas, the ensuing celebration of the end of slavery, which became known as Juneteenth, is the oldest national celebration of the end of slavery in the United States,” the county’s resolution reads, “and Whereas Juneteenth commemorates African-American freedom and remembers the courage of all who sacrificed and suffered injustices in the fight against slavery; and Whereas, Juneteenth honors the historic heritage and contributions that Americans of African descent have made to help shape the cultural, academic, social, economic and moral attributes of this nation …
“NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Guilford County Board of Commissioners do hereby proclaim June 19, 2020 as a day to celebrate ‘Juneteenth’ in Guilford County and encourages all citizens to participate in commemorative and educational events, while remembering that all Americans, regardless of race, should be equal parties to the immeasurable opportunities our nation has to offer.”
The resolution, which was adopted unanimously by the board, also reaffirmed the board’s belief in “the fundamental ideologies of liberty and equality for all,” and also the board’s recognition that a shared history “continues to unite us in the struggle for equity, diversity and inclusivity.”
Like many public bodies, since the police killing of George Floyd, the Board of Commissioners has spent a great deal of time discussing civil rights as well as working with the Sheriff’s Department to improve the ways law that enforcement operates locally.
Several commissioners have been in close contact with Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers in recent weeks and have heard presentations on the state of the protests that have taken place in Guilford County.
In some parts of the country, local officials are talking about “defunding” law enforcement agencies. However, Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Jeff Phillips has made it crystal clear that he has no interest in doing that in Guilford County.
But not all slaves were free on June 19, 1865. Slaves in the states that didn’t secede, like Kentucky and Maryland, still had slaves until the 13th Amendment was ratified in December 1865.
This is correct. A General does not make law. Congress, with the approval of the Oval Office, does. You can celebrate the 13th amendment date, but not on my dime. We should revere the Bill of Rights, and all amendments.
Quite…don’t confuse them facts that run contrary to the party line.
What is this conversation you say the nation has been having? All I’ve seen is extortion demands by an emboldened radical group and property destruction by the lunatic fringe woke mob.
The “conversation” is the anarchists and racists talking about how horrible some of us are for having had the nerve to be born with less than the approved amount of skin pigmentation. It’s a rather lopsided conversation, because they don’t want to hear what we might think or say. To be totally honest about it, I had absolutely nothing to do with the color of my skin, and they had nothing to do with the color of theirs, so it’s insanity for either of us to have enmity toward the other for something as superficial as skin pigment or a lack of same. Character is not contained in the skin, and for some people, it apparently isn’t contained in the heart either. Racists are horribly stupid no matter what their skin color is.