Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo recognized the Juneteenth holiday by noting President Biden signed legislation making it a federal holiday last year.
The holiday represents the delayed freedom of the last enslaved Black Americans and the ongoing work that remains to root out systemic racism and ensure equality and justice for all, she said in a June 20 news release.
“While there is still much work to be done, together we will fulfill America’s promise to all Americans," Raimondo said, according to the release. “Earlier this year, the Commerce Department updated our mission statement to reflect our explicit commitment to ensuring every and all Americans benefits from economic growth and opportunity.”
Raimondo said the Commerce Department’s mission statement guides the agency’s work across programs on a daily basis to ensure racial equality is at the center of their work. No community will be left behind, she said in the release. The agency will support this through means such as ensuring access to high-speed affordable internet, elevating minority-owned businesses and entrepreneurs or supporting workforce development programs for the industries of tomorrow.
“This Juneteenth is an opportunity to remember the progress our nation has made and our obligation to continue moving it forward,” she said, according to the release.
