DPG Chair Nikema Williams On Celebrating Juneteenth

ATLANTA – Today, in celebration of Juneteenth, DPG Chairwoman Nikema Williams issued the following statement:

“On June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, the last enslaved people in the United States learned that they were free. This is a day of celebration for the Black community, when we celebrate our freedom, our education, and our hope for the future.

As we honor the sacrifices and leadership of our ancestors, we must also use this moment to take a deep look at how far we still have to go as a nation. Because in the same way that the enslaved people in Galveston, Texas were still in captivity well after President Lincoln said that they were free, the legacy of white supremacy and the ashes  of slavery still linger in this nation. Black Americans still die from police brutality, budget cuts continue to hurt social services our communities depend on, and Black voters are still forced to wait in line for hours simply to make their voices heard.

Georgia is proud to be the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement. But let’s be clear: the debates we have today are over the same things that Dr. King fought for so many years ago: that Black lives matter, that Black voices matter, and that we must fight for change until we dismantle white supremacy in this country once and for all.

Georgia Democrats are committed to fighting for true racial justice and equity in this country. Today, as we celebrate the legacy of Juneteenth, we have our eyes on the future — and we will never stop until all Georgians truly get the justice we need.”

In honor of the Juneteenth holiday, Georgia Democrats will be sharing the stories of Black Georgia civil rights leaders through DPG social media pages throughout the day.

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