John Hickenlooper on Juneteenth

[brooklynite]

When you’re running for president, it’s important to take time to reflect not just on where we’re going as a country, but where we’ve been. Taking an honest look at our past is the only way to ensure that we don’t repeat it, and acknowledging wrongs is the first step toward healing them.

Today, on "Juneteenth," we celebrate the effective end of slavery in the United States, marked by the proclamation of the end of slavery in Texas on June 19, 1865. Sadly, this announcement came nearly two years after the Emancipation Proclamation became official. And now, 154 years later, the fight for dignity, equality, and opportunity for all is far from over in this country.

This spring, at the National Action Network conference, I called for a formal presidential apology for American slavery—for the shame, the sin, the injustice, and the permanent stain it has left on our history, and for the structural inequality and cruelty that endure as its legacy.

In Colorado, our work of repair began by addressing police misconduct and bias, prioritizing criminal justice reform, tackling housing and employment discrimination, expanding access to the ballot, and emphasizing rehabilitation and treatment for drug use, rather than jail time.

It’s just a start—but we have to start somewhere, because “equality for all” can no longer be a political phrase—mere words aren’t enough.

We face, as MLK has said, a fierce urgency of now. Our crisis of division—inflamed by assaults on minorities, the demonization of immigrants, the rising tides of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, and a president who openly embraces white supremacists—exacerbates the inequality that is the legacy of slavery in this country and will take a nationwide effort to heal.

Our situation is urgent, and much of our progress seems on the verge of being turned back. But on days like Juneteenth, which remind us always to persevere, it is also urgent that we not lose faith in each other and our ability to heal this crisis, together.

Our campaign is dedicated to keeping that faith, and we’ll continue to pursue it in the coming months.

Thank you,
John