Wednesday (June 19th) is Juneteenth, which commemorates the freeing of the last enslaved Black People in our country as news of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation finally reached Galveston, Texas in 1865.

The holiday was created to celebrate emancipation from forced labor - a profound moment in the history of this country that every Worker should observe as a reminder that all people are inherently deserving of dignity, freedom and the right to self-determination.

Additionally, Juneteenth serves as an opportunity to reaffirm the Labor Movement’s obligation to continue fighting against the economic and legal disparities that persist for Black Americans as part of the lasting legacy of chattel slavery.

While it’s been more than 160 years since slavery was abolished, Black labor is still exploited and underpaid in our country.

Black Workers today still earn 30% to 35% less than their White counterparts and face disproportionate unemployment rates due to discrimination - and are systemically overlooked for advancement opportunities, a gap that adds up to trillions in lost wages.

And nowhere is the pervasive lineage of slavery as clear as in our legal system, where Black Americans are overpoliced, overincarcerated and exploited in prisons for cheap labor.

We have many miles to go before reaching true equity in our Nation, but the National AFL-CIO has been and continues to be a powerful vehicle to drive change to close wage gaps, codify dignity in the workplace, give Black Workers a voice on the job and demand justice in all corners of our society.