Juneteenth Rally Scheduled Tomorrow at 1pm in Roseburg

There will be a Juneteenth rally tomorrow in front of the Roseburg Fred Meyer store on Garden Valley Blvd at 1pm. Juneteenth is celebrated as it was the day in 1865 proclaiming all slaves in Texas to be free. Even though the emancipation proclamation was signed nearly 2 1/2 years earlier, enforcement of the proclamation had not yet occurred everywhere in the United States yet. For more information on Juneteenth - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth Today, Oregon Gov Kate Brown announced that June 19th as Juneteenth and said that she will be seeking to make it a state holiday next year. Below is the press release. (Portland, OR) — Governor Kate Brown today announced that she is proclaiming June 19 as Juneteenth in Oregon—a celebration of Black American freedom and commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States—and will introduce a bill in the 2021 legislative session that would make Juneteenth a state holiday. Governor Brown also announced that she is creating a task force focused on statewide law enforcement training, standards, and accountability. “This year, celebrating Black freedom and achievement on Juneteenth is more important than ever as people across Oregon, the United States, and around the world protest systemic racism and unequivocally show that Black Lives Matter," said Governor Brown. "I am proud to officially proclaim June 19 as Juneteenth in Oregon, and I will introduce a bill in the 2021 session to make Juneteenth a state holiday for years to come. “I know this is a small, yet important step. I encourage all Oregonians to join me in observing Juneteenth by getting educated on systemic racism in this country and getting involved in the fight for racial justice. It’s important to me that Oregon is a place that everyone can call home, and thrive. That’s always been my focus and I remain committed to that.”