ILA – South Atlantic and Gulf Coast District President Alan A. Robb’s 2023 Juneteenth Message

Dear Friends:

158 years ago, in Galveston June 19, 1865, word came to Texas slaves they had been freed by President Abraham Lincoln January 1, 1863, two- and one-half years earlier. You must wonder whether President Lincoln’s magnificent Emancipation Proclamation would have withstood litigation from today’s Republican Party. Recall, Lincoln was a Republican! Clearly, the Party of Lincoln is no-more. We see Republicans prohibiting the teaching of slavery and the lessons learned from racism and Jim Crow. We see prohibitions from the teaching of the Holocaust and book-banning. Honors classes on Black history rejected. No, this is not Lincoln’s Republican Party. But regardless of our political party choice, we must be united as the resilient Union we are: We are strong because we are united, regardless of race, ethnic or national background, gender, or gender preference. We cannot and will not tolerate intolerance among us. We do more than lip service to this Holiday, we live it, every day and everywhere, at work, at home, at church, at the union hall! Since the last celebration of Juneteenth, when I spoke of the “dog whistles” becoming louder and more in the open, the displays of racism and antisemitism have only become more pronounced. This Union will not be silent. We intend to continue our bully pulpit to preach against hate. It is what we stand for; it is what is right. Hate and racism is a cancer that we cannot allow to metastasize further.  Please join me in celebrating our diversity, our unity, our strength. Please join me in resisting those that spout hatred. We honor our history; we must learn from it and do better.

Happy Juneteenth! Thank you for all you do. God bless America and the ILA.

Fraternally,
Alan A. Robb

To view the letter, click here.