Remarks of Senate President Karen Spilka at the 2026 Juneteenth Flag Raising
As prepared for delivery
Good morning, everyone!
It is an honor to be here with you today, in front of our State House—the people’s house—to raise the Juneteenth flag.
I want to start by thanking Senator Miranda and Representative Vargas for your leadership of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus, Executive Director Tomás O’Brien, Governor Healey, Senators Edwards, Gomez, Payano, and Howard for your advocacy on behalf of the Caucus in the Senate, Representative Sousa, who I share Framingham with, all of our colleagues in the House, and everyone who has gathered here today to honor our history.
This year we celebrate 250 years of the United States of America. We know that it’s been 250 years since the words “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” were written in the Declaration of Independence, but we also know that, for hundreds of years after that declaration, Black Americans were neither treated equally nor given the unalienable rights the Founding Fathers envisioned for the men that looked just like them.
From the brutality of chattel slavery to the oppression codified in Jim Crow laws, Black Americans have endured grave injustices that have left deep wounds and shaped generations.
Even today, after years of fighting for civil rights for all, some people want us to go back to that dark era. We have a Supreme Court that wants to take away hard fought-for voting rights.And we have a President who attacks Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—and who wants to erase Black history from our books, our monuments, and our memories.
But we do remember – and we will never go back. As we raise this Juneteenth flag on this Freedom Day, we are sending a clear message that we are not going back – and the only way forward is together.
To the special interest groups who want to call for an Article V Constitutional Convention to make changes to our constitution that will strip people of the rights we hold near and dear, I say –not so fast.
This session, the Legislature passed joint resolutions to rescind all of our outdated applications for a national Constitutional Convention under Article V – specifically to prevent this from happening. And the Senate stands ready to take further action to ensure that the generations of Black Americans who have called Massachusetts home – and the generations to come – truly feel safe and supported here.
During our Senate sessions we stand underneath the words of one of our greatest leaders, Frederick Douglass, who said “Truth, justice, liberty, and humanity will ultimately prevail” – and those words guide our work everyday. And I’m proud to stand alongside colleagues in the Senate, House, and the Healey Administration who work hard to uphold these principles – today and everyday.
Thank you so much – and Happy Juneteenth!
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