“As Congress made clear by establishing the 400 Years of African American History Commission, our national story begins long before 1776.

On this Juneteenth, as America250 embarks on our partnership with the 400 Years of African American History Commission, I am honored to help launch the national Freedom Forward campaign that reinforces the fact that Black history—from 1619 to the present—is American History.

From the dark chapter in our history when enslaved Africans first appeared near Point Comfort, to Juneteenth, the Thirteenth Amendment, and the ongoing struggle for equality and justice that continues to this day, Black history is an essential throughline in the story of America. This Juneteenth, I am proud to reaffirm that these critical moments will remain an essential aspect of our work of telling the whole story of our nation and its people.”