Gov. Hogan Recognizes Juneteenth, Calls Again For US Treasury To Release Harriet Tubman $20 Bill

ANNAPOLIS (WJZ) — Gov. Hogan took the opportunity this Juneteenth to advocate once again for the US Treasury to reconsider its delay of the release of the Harriet Tubman $20 bill by nearly a decade.

He credited Tubman, along with abolitionist Frederick Douglass for the efforts it took to end slavery in the U.S.

"Today our nation recognizes Juneteenth to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States, which was achieved through the courage and sacrifice of men and woman like Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman," The governor tweeted earlier Wednesday.

Juneteenth celebrates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers told enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, that the Civil War had ended and they were free.

It has been known as the Independence Day observed in African-American communities since 1886, to commemorate the abolition of slavery in the U.S. and celebrate progress since emancipation.

The war had actually ended in April, but that information wasn't readily disseminated to African Americans.

This day also comes two and a half years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation-- which had become official January 1, 1963. However, that had little impact on Texans due to the small amount of Union troops to enforce the order.

The governor then segued into a call to the US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and the Trump administration to reconsider their delay of the release of the bill until 2028.

"I once again urge the U.S. Treasury secretary and the administration to reconsider their reversal of the decision and the delay of the release of the Harriet Tubman twenty dollar bill by nearly a decade," Hogan concluded in his Twitter thread.

In:
• Slavery
• Maryland
• Baltimore