HOUSE BILL 228

47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2006

INTRODUCED BY

Sheryl Williams Stapleton

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC AFFAIRS; CREATING "JUNETEENTH FREEDOM DAY".

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     Section 1. JUNETEENTH FREEDOM DAY ESTABLISHED.--The "Juneteenth Freedom Day" is created. It shall be commemorated on the third Saturday in June of each year and be observed by:

          A. reflecting on the history of African-American slavery in the United States; the experience of Africans brought to the United States in a five- to twelve-week journey across the Atlantic, the deaths of thousands of Africans who died in inhuman conditions of passage; the abuse of African-American slaves, including whipping, castration, branding and rape; the importance of the Thirteenth Amendment of the United States constitution abolishing slavery throughout the United States and its territories; and the significance of June 19, 1865, the day on which the message of freedom and abolition reached the western states; and

          B. recognizing the importance of Americans of African descent as American citizens and New Mexico residents.

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