Happy Juneteenth, everyone. One of the great honors I've had as president was to sign the bill making Juneteenth a national holiday for the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Day nearly four decades ago. And it matters. It mattered to me and it matters to the country. Juneteenth marks both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation and the promise of a brighter morning to come -- a day of profound weight and power that reminds us of an extraordinary capacity to heal and hope and emerge the most painful moments into a better version of ourselves. You know, great nations don't -- they just don't ignore the most painful moments in their history. They embrace them, to heal and grow stronger. And we're a great nation. But it's simply not enough to commemorate Juneteenth. For emancipation did not mark the end of American work to delivering the promise of equality. It only marked the beginning. To honor the true meaning of Juneteenth, we must never rest until we deliver the promise of America to all Americans, all Americans. That's what Kamala and I and our administration are committed to do, and that's why today's concert is so important. So it's time to celebrate, to educate, and to act. God bless you all, and happy Juneteenth.
