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.

HB 228

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