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POR 2026-117 · Agenda item attachment · Jun 1 2026
That the City Council go on record recognizing June 19, 2026 as Juneteenth in the City of Cambridge, and in urging all Cambridge residents to reflect upon the meaning of this important day.
POR 2026-117
FIRST IN COUNCIL
June 1, 2026
City of Cambridge
COUNCILLOR SIMMONS
MAYOR SIDDIQUI
WHEREAS:
On the 19th of June, people throughout the country shall be celebrating Juneteenth,
which commemorates the day in 1865 during which slavery was formally abolished in
the State of Texas, and which has come to be regarded as the final, formal date of
emancipation of all remaining enslaved people throughout the United States of
America at the end of the Civil War; and
WHEREAS:
On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed into law legislation declaring Juneteenth to
be a federal holiday, and we celebrate this holiday each year in acknowledgment of the
ending of one of the most shameful chapters in this country's history, and in the
continual hope that the United States shall forever strive to become a more perfect
union, and shall forever work to move closer to its founding ideals of being a nation
where all citizens are considered equal; and
WHEREAS:
In the 161 years since the end of the Civil War, the United States has unquestionably
made great strides, and has also suffered numerous, at times heartbreaking setbacks, in
the long march towards true civic equality for all its citizens; and
WHEREAS:
In these tumultuous times, when the hard-won progress of generations faces renewed
challenge and uncertainty, it is particularly important that we pause to commemorate
Juneteenth and to reflect upon its meaning and enduring value – not merely as a
remembrance of what was overcome, but as a reaffirmation of the principles of
freedom, dignity, and equality to which this nation has pledged itself; and
WHEREAS:
Juneteenth remains an important date for us to pause each year to reflect upon the
progress we have made, and to contemplate the work that remains as we seek to create
a more just country for the generations yet to come; now therefore be it
ORDERED:
That the City Council go on record recognizing June 19, 2026 as Juneteenth in the City
of Cambridge, and in urging all Cambridge residents to reflect upon the meaning of
this important day.
In City Council June 1, 2026.
Adopted by a yea and nay vote:-
Yeas 9; Nays 0; Absent 0.-
Attest:- Paula M. Crane, Interim City Clerk
A true copy;
ATTEST:-
Paula M. Crane
Interim City Clerk
Vote Certification
That the City Council go on record recognizing June 19, 2026 as Juneteenth in the City of
Cambridge, and in urging all Cambridge residents to reflect upon the meaning of this important
day.
Adopted: Monday, June 1, 2026
RESULT:
9 TO 0
YEAS:
Ayah A. Al-Zubi, Burhan Azeem, Timothy R. Flaherty, Marc C. Mcgovern,
Patricia M. Nolan, E. Denise Simmons, Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler, Catherine Zusy, Sumbul Siddiqui
NAYS:
PRESENT:
ABSENT:
City of Cambridge
That the City Council go on record recognizing June 19, 2026 as Juneteenth in the City of Cambridge,
and in urging all Cambridge residents to reflect upon the meaning of this important day.