Earlier this month, City Commission proclaimed June 19 as Juneteenth Day. Ms. Dorothy Scott Wilson accepted the proclamation on behalf of the Dr. Joseph A Wiltshire Scholarship Foundation Inc.
WHEREAS for 158 years, Juneteenth Day continues to be the most recognized African-American holiday observance in the United States: and
WHEREAS Juneteenth commemorates the day freedom was proclaimed to all enslaved in the South by Major Emery, and the United States Colored Troops posted General Order #3 on June 19, 1865, on Reedy Chapel AME Church in Galveston, Texas, more than two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln; and
WHEREAS, the following year, the first official Juneteenth celebrations took place in Texas and have continued across the United States throughout the years; and
WHEREAS, "Until All are Free, None are Free" is an oft-repeated maxim that can be used to highlight the significance of the end of the era of slavery in the United States; and
WHEREAS, in 1991, Representative Alzo J. Reddick Sr., Orlando, authored the legislation for the State of Florida’s Juneteenth Observance, which was signed into law by Florida Governor Lawton Chiles in May 1991; and
WHEREAS, in 1973, as an undergraduate student in Texas, Doris Moore Bailey was first introduced to Juneteenth Day during a horseback trail ride. In June 1992, the Juneteenth Committee, founded by Mrs. Moore Bailey, organized the first Juneteenth Observance in Florida; and
WHEREAS, the 19th of June, along with the 4th of July, completes the cycle of freedom for America’s Independence Day observances; and
WHEREAS, leaders in Lake Wales including Wanda Howard with the NAACP and Dorothy Scott Wilson with the Dr. Joseph A Wiltshire Scholarship Foundation Inc began celebrating Juneteenth in Lake Wales with an annual luncheon
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Jack Hilligoss, Mayor of the City of Lake Wales, do hereby proclaim June 19, 2023, as JUNETEENTH DAY