June 19

Reflecting on Juneteenth.

This incredibly significant day has been celebrated as Freedom Day, Liberation Day or Emancipation Day in years past. Juneteenth commemorates the end of chattel slavery in the United States, and celebrates the hard-fought freedom of African Americans. Though accounts vary and of many of the enslaved people were likely already aware of their rightfully free status, this day has been traditionally held to commemorate June 19, 1865, when enslaved African Americans held in Galveston, Texas learned of their freedom – more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

This year’s celebration is made even more poignant now that President Biden has signed legislation recognizing Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Through the official designation is a milestone in our nation’s long march toward’s our Constitution’s promise of liberty and justice for all, it also serves as a reminder of how much further we have left to go in order to create a more perfect union due to our nation’s past racists policies, and the structural racism still present in our society today, homelessness disproportionately effects African American communities.

Our leadership is primarily composed of marginalized individuals of varying backgrounds with lived experiences with homelessness. From our very beginning Hotels for Homelessness and Robin and Trisha’s house have sought to empower and serve our entire community, with a mission focused on greater societal equity.

Celebrating Freedom, from all of us at Hotels for Homeless and Robin and Trish’s House