JUNETEENTH HOLIDAY STATEMENT

MIAMI, FL (JUNE 19, 2024) – Today we celebrate the final emancipation of slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865 more than two and a half years after President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Even though it would not be until December when the 13th amendment would end slavery throughout the United States it is important that we take time to not only celebrate the joy of freedom but also to remember the lengths to which those who opposed it were willing to go to preserve slavery.

Unfortunately, we currently find ourselves in a climate where these same forces obstruct progress and threaten with violence (and in some cases actions) if they do not get the political outcomes they want. This is why we have a 6-3 Supreme Court that doesn’t reflect the political or demographic realities of a country where a majority has voted Democratic in 7 of the last 8 Presidential Elections. These same people continue to gerrymander districts and limit the voices of blacks, browns, and all people who do not agree with them. They have kept women from attaining equality under the Constitution and continue to chip away at their rights to privacy and to make their own medical decisions.

The people of Miami-Dade face a real choice in August and I know that they will vote for me because I have a plan for actually working to improve accessibility to the ballot box for all legally eligible voters; and protecting the ideals that all Americans and the Democratic Party should stand for. Willis Howard has made it clear that he will keep the status quo at the Department despite the obvious and significant budget and leadership consequences of just building on top of the existing structure. JC Planas has spent his entire career fighting to protect and further the voting goals of the Republican Party and also promises to maintain the status quo at the Department.