Juneteenth is a celebration and remembrance of the end of slavery in the United States following the Union’s victory in the Civil War. In June 2021, President Joseph Biden signed legislation establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday, formally commemorating the end of slavery. According to President Biden, “Juneteenth marks both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation, and the promise of a greater morning to come.” Among the many groups commemorating Juneteenth was Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, a network of political and social conservatives who question the alignment of capital punishment with conservative principles and values.
In a video issued to honor Juneteenth, Demetrius Minor, CCATDP National Manager, notes that sentencing disparities and lack of effective representation still pervade the criminal legal system and disproportionately impact people of color. Echoing the words and sentiment of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mr. Minor urges a “peaceful resistance with a unified voice, a voice that calls for the end of practices that perpetuate inequality and violence and pain, practices with no basis in justice and practices that don’t keep us safe.”
Mr. Minor also describes the importance of remembering the events of ‘Bloody Sunday’ in Selma, Alabama when 58 individuals peacefully marching for justice and equality were met by violence from more than 150 members of law enforcement in 1965. Mr. Minor discusses that “now, two generations later, just like those who crossed this bridge, we still have so much to fight for to see liberty and justice for all.”
Alana Wise, Juneteenth Is Now A Federal Holiday, NPR, June 17, 2021
Demetrius Minor, CCATDP celebrates Juneteenth with new video, Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, June 16, 2023
