RESOLUTION FOR BOARD MEETING OF FEBRUARY 20, 2025
Title
RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners recognizing January 1 as the anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation (As Revised)
Body
WHEREAS, January 1st marks the official day when enslaved people were declared free following President Abraham Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation; and
WHEREAS, The Confederate states were mandated to free the slaves at midnight on January 1, 1863; however, it took nearly two more years, until June 19, 1865, for many individuals to be informed that they were free; and
WHEREAS, While Juneteenth is celebrated as the day enslaved people in Texas learned of their freedom, January 1st will forever be the official freedom date; and
WHEREAS, Frederick Douglass argued that freedom would be empty if the formerly enslaved were not guaranteed the rights and protections of American citizens; and
WHEREAS, Fannie Lou Hamer once said, "Nobody's free until everybody's free"; and
WHEREAS, Acknowledging January 1st as the day enslaved people officially received their freedom will enhance our understanding of the oppression and challenges they faced, including the denial of their rights and the struggle for equality; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, on behalf of ourselves and our staff, do hereby recognize January 1 as the anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution be spread upon the permanent Record of Proceedings of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
Dated: February 20, 2025