06/19/2026
Today, we honor Juneteenth — the day in 1865 when the final enslaved Americans in Texas learned they were free. It’s a powerful reminder of our nation’s ongoing journey to live up to the promise written in 1776: that all are created equal and endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights.
The left has co-opted Juneteenth to push for radical racial policies and reparations. They've tried to make it a partisan holiday by excluding most Americans from its celebration. Our local black Republican leaders have experienced this. This holiday is for all Americans, not just for a select, qualified few.
President Trump was the first president to call for its adoption as a federal holiday in 2020, though it took a year for Congress to act. When it did, the bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent and the House 415-14. The left has worked hard to co-opt the holiday and use it as a tool to divide their countrymen. On the very first federal Juneteenth, when Democratic leaders tied the holiday to the death of George Floyd and renamed the day “Juneteenth National Independence Day,” setting up direct opposition to July 4th. As a result, many conservatives now oppose the federal holiday.
But for many Republicans, Juneteenth is deeply connected to our party’s founding mission — the fight against slavery, the leadership of President Abraham Lincoln, and the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. It’s a day for all Americans to celebrate the values of freedom, human dignity, and the courage of those who carried the torch of liberty forward. We've always been the Party that stood against slavery and human trafficking while celebrating the pursuit of each citizen's freedom and liberty. It was the Republican Party that led on voting rights and freedom for women in 1919 and Emancipation for all slaves in America in 1863.
As we approach America’s 250th birthday, Juneteenth takes on an even greater meaning. It reminds us that the American story is one of striving, sacrifice, and the continual work of perfecting our union. Two and a half centuries later, the call to defend freedom and opportunity still belongs to all of us.
Happy Juneteenth — and here’s to 250 years of the American spirit.