Rep. Lawson-Rowe, Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Hold Juneteenth Press Conference

COLUMBUS – State Rep. Meredith Lawson-Rowe (D-Reynoldsburg) alongside fellow members of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus (OLBC) today held a press conference honoring Juneteenth.

“I am proud to stand with members of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus to honor the 160th anniversary of Juneteenth. As the great-granddaughter of sharecroppers, I became one of the first African American women to be elected to Reynoldsburg City Council, the second to serve as President of that Council, and the first African American to be elected to the fifth district seat in the Ohio House of Representatives,” said Rep. Lawson-Rowe. “My colleagues and I stood firm today to declare that we are our ancestors’ wildest dreams and our history and place at the table is not for sale and cannot be erased, despite some’s best efforts at doing just that, either through policy or practice.”

On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas to tell the last remaining slaves in the southern United States that they had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation of Abraham Lincoln, signed 2½ years earlier on January 1, 1863. This occasion has been known since as “Juneteenth” and “Liberation Day” for African American people. The first celebrations of Juneteenth were hosted in Texas in 1866 and soon spread to other parts of the American South during the early twentieth century. In 2021, Juneteenth became both a federally recognized holiday and a paid state holiday in Ohio.

Even as the OLBC celebrated the end of slavery in the southern United States, far too many Ohioans remain shackled by unjust policies that keep families poor, children sick, and communities unsafe. From redlining and food deserts to mass incarceration and voter suppression, the fight for true freedom and justice is far from over.

EDITOR’S NOTE: A picture of Rep. Lawson-Rowe at Wednesday's press conference is attached to this release. Courtesy: Ohio House Democratic Caucus