Juneteenth: Freedom Day

"Juneteenth is a time to recommit ourselves to the work that remains undone. We remember that even in the darkest hours, there is cause to hope for tomorrow’s light."—@BarackObama, 2016 pic.twitter.com/WQ2C4QXLG3

— The Obama Foundation (@ObamaFoundation) June 19, 2020

Harriet Tubman
Mother Freedom#Juneteenth pic.twitter.com/iI1DdcxJno

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) June 19, 2020

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A great way to celebrate #Juneteenth? Support Black women filmmakers like @cgpeoples - her film @Juneteenthmovie drops on digital today. A lovely film about mothers and daughters, dreams deferred and reclaiming our own liberation. #MissJuneteenth pic.twitter.com/sphrPshhlJ

— Rebecca Theodore-Vachon 🇭🇹 🇩🇴 🇺🇸 (@FilmFatale_NYC) June 19, 2020

#OTD in 1865, enslaved African Americans were notified of their freedom by Union troops in Galveston Bay, TX—two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.

Known as #Juneteenth, this day is widely celebrated as the end of chattel slavery in the U.S. #APeoplesJourney pic.twitter.com/banVoF49nl

— Smithsonian NMAAHC (@NMAAHC) June 19, 2020

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Though it has long been celebrated among the African American community, it is a history that has been marginalized & still remains largely unknown to the wider public. The legacy of #Juneteenth shows the value of deep hope & urgent organizing in uncertain times. #APeoplesJourney pic.twitter.com/juqbpOGxYu

— Smithsonian NMAAHC (@NMAAHC) June 19, 2020

Although the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control, some enslaved people would not be free until much later.

[BLOG] The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth: https://t.co/rUhEaMtM0J #APeoplesJourney

— Smithsonian NMAAHC (@NMAAHC) June 19, 2020

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For more than 250,000 African Americans, June 19, 1865, signaled the final day of their enslavement. Two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation took effect on January 1, 1863, Texas had yet to officially recognize the President’s executive order. #APeoplesJourney pic.twitter.com/1eZrAfElgv

— Smithsonian NMAAHC (@NMAAHC) June 19, 2020

Not until Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, TX with 2,000 soldiers on June 19, 1865, did enslaved African Americans learn about their emancipation.

How do you and your community commemorate #Juneteenth? #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory pic.twitter.com/Guppu0hKZC

— Smithsonian NMAAHC (@NMAAHC) June 19, 2020

A Historic Day

https://twitter.com/justinjm1/status/722816817316696064

The President and First Lady’s Day

President Barack Obama gives an economic policy speech at the Lake Harriet Bandshell

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The Erler family listens to President Barack Obama talk about the economy while at the Lake Harriet Band Shell

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The National Memo: Obama Brings Middle-Class Message To Minnesota

President Barack Obama began a two-day visit to Minneapolis on Thursday sharing cheeseburgers with a local working mother and bringing a middle-class message tailor made to aid Democrats fearful of massive losses in the upcoming election. Obama said he shares the frustrations of people who went to college, work hard, and still struggle to buy homes, pay for child care, and dig out from student loan debt. “You are the reason I ran for office,” he told a crowd of about 350 people gathered for a town hall forum near Minnehaha Falls. In his early life, he said, “I was you guys … You are the ones I am thinking about every single day.”

Obama talked about progress his administration has made curbing greenhouse gases and making college more affordable, but devoted much of his time to touting the need for a higher minimum wage and equal pay and benefits for women. Those issues resonate strongly in Minnesota, where Gov. Mark Dayton (D) and a Democratic-controlled Legislature enacted the largest minimum wage increase in state history this year and approved a menu of economic protections for women in the workplace. “The idea that they would not be paid the same or not have the same opportunities … is infuriating,” Obama said of female workers. “If you are doing the same job, you should get the same salary. Period. Full stop.”

More here

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Pete Souza: President Obama waves to the crowd after speaking at Lake Harriot Band Shell in Minneapolis

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POTUS: "Cynicism is a choice, and hope is a better choice. Every day, I am lucky enough to receive a thousand acts of hope." #DayInTheLife

— J Earnest (Archived) (@PressSec44) June 27, 2014

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"I'm never going to get cynical. I'm going to stay hopeful, and I hope you do, too." —President Obama

— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) June 27, 2014

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Great print coverage in MN for #DayInTheLife pic.twitter.com/rLbEBCtKHU

— J Earnest (Archived) (@PressSec44) June 27, 2014

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"If you’re mad at me for helping people on my own then join me and we’ll do it together." —President Obama to Republicans and Congress

— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) June 27, 2014

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Pete Souza: President Obama greets people in the crowd following his speech at Lake Harriot Band Shell in Minneapolis

President Barack Obama greets audience members after he delivers remarks on the economy, at the Lake Harriet Bandshell in Minneapolis, Minn. (Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama walks on the South Lawn of the White House upon his return to Washington from Minneapolis

President Barack Obama holds 6-month-old Olivia Hughes, granddaughter of ABC News reporter Ann Compton, on the South Lawn of the White House upon his return to Washington from Minneapolis

President Barack Obama waves as he and daughter Sasha walk out of BLT Steak after eating dinner

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive for the Marine Barracks Evening Parade

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, are escorted to their seats by Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos and his wife Bonnie Amos

President Obama pets Sgt. Chesty XIV at the Marine Barracks Evening Parade

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President Obama stands for the national anthem during the Marine Barracks Evening Parade

signed, sealed, delivered

President Obama: “Had I not been able to get this passed, I would be sleeping on the couch.”

President Barack Obama signs into law the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 as First Lady Michelle Obama looks on at Harriet Tubman Elementary School in Washington on December 13

In signing a new law today to improve the quality of school lunches, President Obama paid joking tribute to its most prominent supporter: first lady Michelle Obama.

“Had I not been able to get this bill passed, I would be sleeping on the couch,” the president said.

Mrs. Obama, whose major issues include fighting childhood obesity, laughed and said, “let’s just say it got done, so we don’t have to go down that road.”

The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, a $4.5 billion measure, provides more free school meals to the pool, and gives the government more power to decide what foods can offered in those meals, as well as in school vending machines and fundraisers during school hours.