Dear Neighbor,Happy Juneteenth!Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. It is a celebration of independence, freedom, history, and new beginnings.It was not until two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, and two months after the end of the Civil War, that slavery finally came to an end in the United States. On June 19, 1865, federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to spread the news of freedom to the more than 250,000 people who remained enslaved in the state. With that announcement, the promise of the Emancipation Proclamation was finally realized. It’s the fulfillment of that promise that we celebrate today.But Juneteenth is also a celebration of knowledge and the freedom that comes with it. It reminds us that knowledge is power – that the ability to learn, to be aware, and to be heard must never be undervalued. And it reminds us that it is critical to teach our nation’s history uncensored and honestly – not to make anyone feel ashamed, but to demonstrate the power of knowledge and to remind ourselves that change is only possible when we are willing to learn.Today, more than 150 years after the first Juneteenth, we have a chance to embrace more knowledge than ever before and to use it to create a stronger, safer, and more just society. We must continue to commit ourselves to truth, to learning from our past, and to building a brighter future for all.Black history is American history. Today, let us celebrate both.