In aligning with Oregon’s passing of House Bill 2168, will begin recognizing June nineteenth as a state holiday, Full Access High Desert offices will be closed Friday 6/18/2021 and will reopen Monday 6/21/2021. As an agency that recognizes and cherishes the differences in all of us, we would like to share some information about Juneteenth:
Juneteenth, also known as Juneteenth “Independence Day” or “Freedom Day”, is a holiday that commemorates the June 19, 1865 announcement of the abolition of slavery and the emancipation of African American slaves. On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation effectively ending slavery on January 1, 1863, however, the Proclamation had little effect in the State of Texas until two and half years later. It was on June 19, 1865, that Union General Gordon Granger read General Orders No. 3 to the people of Galvaston, Texas: “The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaved are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.” ~ Juneteenthor.com (2019)