Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Olympia City Council proclaimed Friday, June 19, as Juneteenth, while emphasizing its significance as both a celebration of freedom and a reminder of the nation’s unfinished work toward racial justice.
Through a proclamation signed by Mayor Dontae Payne at a meeting on Tuesday, June 16, the City of Olympia recognized that the legacy of slavery, segregation, exclusion and systemic racism continues to shape disparities in Black communities.
“Any nation that is looking to move forward, looking to make progress, looking to last has to face its history, and that is what Juneteenth does,” Payne said. “It reminds us to look back, think about where we’ve been, look at where we are now, and think about where we want to be.”
In accepting the proclamation, community organizer and advocate Malika Lamont said Juneteenth presents an opportunity for people to work toward unity.
She emphasized unity does not require agreement, but should help communities continue the fight for freedom, while remaining focused on overcoming the challenges that stand in the way of justice.
The proclamation traces Juneteenth’s origins to June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the emancipation of enslaved people more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
It also recognizes Olympia’s own history, including the escape of Charles Mitchell, a 13-year-old boy enslaved in Olympia in the 1850s, who fled to freedom in Victoria, British Columbia in 1860 with the help of Black abolitionists and the maritime Underground Railroad.
The proclamation highlighted Olympia’s efforts to advance racial equity, such as becoming the first city in Washington to adopt a resolution urging the state to study reparations for the lasting impacts of slavery and systemic racism.
It also acknowledged the state’s creation of the Charles Mitchell and George Washington Bush Study on Reparative Action for descendants of enslaved African Americans.
Payne said the state of Washington Juneteenth theme, “Juneteenth Brings Balance to America’s Celebration,” reflects the importance of confronting the nation’s history rather than ignoring it.
He also reflected on the role Black Americans have played in advancing the nation’s ideals despite enduring centuries of discrimination.
“We’ve also made progress,” said Payne, noting that Black Americans today are able to vote, hold public office and contribute across every sector of society. “That’s why the United States remains the best country in the world, but it can only do that if we are willing to admit our flaws and where we’ve been, and be able to move forward.”
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Honestyandrealityguy
Hopefully, we will start teaching accurate US history. For instance, slavery has been around the world forever. When America began, there was no slavery. Instead, indentured servants. To get the ride over, you would go into servitude and once that was worked off, the master would provide you a plot of land. That worked until a black man, Anthony Johnson came along. He was in fact an indentured servant. When he worked off his servitude, he had a black indentured servant that left him to go to work elsewhere. Johnson sued him and the judge ruled that Johnson owned that person; hence, slavery began.
Johnson, his family and friends then began buying and selling slaves - first to themselves, then to others. When a white Republican freed the slaves, black families owned thousands of slaves. The native Americans owned tens of thousands. And then others, including whites, owned slaves. The north (Republicans) only allowed slavery for 10 years. About 300,000 whites and 20,000 blacks from the north gave their lives to end slavery in this country. I wonder why we do not honor these folks.
And I wonder if America would ever have had slavery had it not been for the first slave owner, a black man, Anthony Johnson.
And with recent ICE oversights, many believe there are millions of "underground slaves" in America today. Ask yourself, where do the illegals go to live, go to work, etc.? And of course, human trafficking number one cause is illegal immigration.
Maybe its time for a bit of common sense.
Thursday, June 18 Report this
mhjwilson
The zoning laws need to be repealed along with all the related regulations. They are racist in origin and we need to recognize that fact. And they are a financial burden to the low income people. Here is some history.
https://www.sundaymagazine.org/p/baltimore-tries-drastic-plan-of-race-segregation
https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/07/23/berkeley-zoning-has-served-for-many-decades-to-separate-the-poor-from-the-rich-and-whites-from-people-of-color-2
https://ggwash.org/view/70408/harland-bartholomew-the-man-who-zoned-washington-dc
“Harland Bartholomew designed Seattle’s first zoning ordinance in 1923, introducing the "First Residence District" which laid the groundwork for decades of single-family zoning and racial segregation.” ttps://www.seattle.gov/documents/departments/opcd/seattleplan/oneseattleplancenteringracialequity.pdf
Thursday, June 18 Report this
WildwoodIte
Honestyandrealityguy, while there are a few details in your comment that are accurate, the conclusion and premise of your post (which has been floating around social media for a while) is wildly uninformed and marginalizes the true and enduring abhorrent impact of slavery. Start with this reputable source: https://news.asu.edu/20190819-discoveries-impossible-story-african-pioneer-colonial-america
Friday, June 19 Report this
wolfmanner
More BS.
Friday, June 19 Report this
RondaLarsonKramer
Great article. Thank you, JOLT, for reporting on this.
One historical clarification: the Tumwater pioneer's name was George Bush, not George Washington Bush. The name "George Washington Bush" arose from a historical mix-up with another Black pioneer, George Washington of Lewis County. Unfortunately, that error became widely repeated and now appears throughout the internet and in the title of the Department of Commerce's reparations study.
For anyone interested in the history, see The Olympian article, "Thurston County began with a racist outsider and an upstanding pioneer family" (Feb. 9, 2020).
Friday, June 19 Report this
Snevets
I wasn't able to attend this year but look forward to next year!
@ RondaLarsonKramer thank you for the important clarification.
Tuesday, June 23 Report this
Wesley
It's "Jumeteemf".
Friday, June 26 Report this