the age of revolution, insurance is a kind of emergent self governance, even though it's sort of an imperfect one that is threaded through the institutions of the state itself. it's helping to make the, state shaping the terms according to state governance. the business, which it cannot still fully governed because insurance is a wealthy, so complicated and so international in nature. >> watch the full program online at c-span.org slash history. by searching hannah farber or the name of her book, underwriters of the united states. [applause] >> pleads, have a seat. good afternoon, everyone, good

afternoon. so, throughout history, juneteenth has been known by many names. to believe day, freedom day, liberation day, emancipation -- [inaudible] a national holiday. [applause] and, looking at across this room, i see the advocates, the activists, the leaders who have been calling for the state for so long. including the one and only, miss opal lee.

[laughs] we just received a very special recognition from the president of the united states. i see members of congress, members of the congressional black caucus, members of the united states senate who passed this bill unanimously. and -- all [applause] all of whom, collectively, where responsible for delivering this bill to the presidents desk. and i thank you all, we thank you all, your nation thinks you all. and, you know, when we establish a national holiday,

it makes an important statement. national holidays are something important. these are days when we, as a nation, have decided to stop and take stock. and, often, to acknowledge our history. so, as we establish juneteenth as our newest national holiday, let us be clear about what happened on june 19th, 1865. today we call juneteenth. because, you see, that day was not the end of slavery in america. yes, on that day, the enslaved people of galveston, texas learned that they were free. but, in fact, two and a half years earlier, the emancipation proclamation ended slavery and the confederacy. , so think about that.

for more than two years, the enslaved people of texas were kept in servitude for more than two years they were intentionally kept from their freedom. for more than two years. and then, on that summer day, 156 years ago, the enslaved people of texas learned the news. they learned that they were free and they claimed their freedom. it was, indeed, an important day. [applause] and so, let us also remember, that day is not the end of slavery in america. the truth is, it would be six more months before the 13th amendment was ratified. before enslaved people in the south and north were free. so, as we commemorate the

history of juneteenth, as we did just weeks ago with the history of the tulsa race massacre, we must learn from our history and we must teach our children our history. because it is part of our history as a nation, it is part of american history. so, let me end by saying this. we are gathered here, in a house built by enslaved people. we are footsteps away from where president abraham lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation and we are here to witness president joe biden establish juneteenth as a national holiday. we have come far and we have far to go, but today is a day

of celebration. it is not only a day of pride, it is also a day for us to reaffirm and rededicate ourselves to action. and, with that, i say happy juneteenth, everybody. with that, i introduce the president of the united states, joe biden. [applause] >> thank you. thank you, madam place president. 156 years ago, 156 years, two 19th, 1865. -- major general of the union army arrived in galveston, texas to enforce the emancipation proclamation. and free the last enslaved

americans in texas from bondage. that is, you all know, kinder people some of, aside came to be known as juneteenth, you all know that. a day that reflects what the salmon tells, us that we may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning. juneteenth marks both the long, hard night slavery and subjugation and a promise of a brighter morning become. this is a day a profile, and in my view, profound weight and profound power. day on which you remember the moral stain, the terrible toll that slavery took on the country and continues to take. but i have long called america's original sin.

at the same, time i also remember the extraordinary capacity to heal and to hope into a from those painful moments they bitter, bitter version of ourself. to make a better version of ourselves. today, we concentrate juneteenth for what it ought to be, what it must be. a national holiday. as a vice president, noted a holiday that will join the others of our national celebrations, our independence, our laborers who built this nation. our service men and women who served and died in its defense. the first new national holiday since the creation of martin luther king holiday, nearly four decades ago. i'm grateful to the members of congress here today, in particular the congressional black caucus. who did so much to make this day possible.

i'm especially pleased that we showed the nation that we can come together as democrats and republicans to commemorate this day with overwhelming bipartisan support of the congress. i hope this is the beginning of a change in the way we deal with one another. we are blessed to mark the day in the presence of miss opal lee. as my mother would, say god love her. i have the honor of meeting her in nevada, more than a year ago. she told me she love me and i believe the. i wanted to believe it. miss opal, you are incredible. a daughter of texas, grandmother have the movement to make juneteenth a federal holiday. this opal, you won't believe it, she's 49 years old!

or 94 years old. you are an incredible woman, miss opal, you really are. as a child, growing up in texas, she and her family would celebrate juneteenth. juneteenth, 1939, when she was 12 years old, a white mob torched her family home. but such hate never stopped her, anymore than it stop the vast majority of you i'm looking at from this podium. over the course of decades, she's made it her mission to see that this day came. it was almost a singular mission. she's walked four miles and miles, later literally and figuratively, to bring attention to juneteenth, to make the state possible. i ask, once again, we all stand and give her a warm welcome to the white house.

[applause] as they still say in the senate, and i said for 36 years, you excuse me for a point of personal privilege. as i was walking, down i regret that my grandchildren aren't here. because this is a really, really important moment in our history. by making juneteenth a federal holiday, americans can feel the power of this day and learn from our history. and celebrate progress and grapple with the distance we've come, but the distance we to travel through. i said a few weeks ago, marking the 100th anniversary of the

tulsa race massacre, great nations don't ignore their most painful moments. great nations don't ignore their most painful moments. they don't ignore those moments in the past, they embrace them. great nations don't walk away. we come to terms with the mistakes we made and remembering those moments, we begin to heal and grow stronger. the truth is, it's simply not enough just to commemorate juneteenth. after all the emancipation of enslaved black americans didn't mark the end of america's work to deliver on the promise of equality. italy marked the beginning. to honor the true meaning of juneteenth, we have to continue toward that promise. because we've not gotten there

yet. the vice president and i and our entire administration, and all of you in this room, are committed to doing just that. that's why we've launched an aggressive effort to combat racial discrimination in housing. finally, addressing the cruel fact that a homeowner, to this day, by a black american family is usually appraised at a lower rate in a similar family owned by white family in a similar area. that's why we are committed to increasing black homeownership. one of the biggest drivers of generational wealth. that is why we are making it possible for more black entrepreneurs to access capital, because there are ideas are as good, they lacked the capital. if they can get their fair share of credible contracts, they can begin to build wealth. that's why we are working to give each and every child, three and four years of age, not a daycare but school, in a school. [applause] that is why --

that is why we are unlocking incredibly creative innovation in our historical black colleges and universities. providing them with the resources, to invest in research centers and laboratories. to help hbcu graduates compete for good paying jobs in the industries of the future. folks, the promise of equality is not going to be fulfilled until we become a real, until it becomes real in our schools and on our main streets and in our neighborhoods. our health care system, and ensuring that equity is at the heart of our fighting against the pandemic. and the water that comes out of our faucets, and the air that we breathe in our communities. and our justice system, so we can fulfill the promise of america for all people, all of our people. and it is not going to be

fulfilled so long as the sacred right to vote remains under attack. [applause] we see this assault from restrictive laws, threats of intimidation, voter purges, and more. and assault that offends the very democracy. we can't rest until the promise of equality has been fulfilled for every one of us, in every corner of this nation. that, to me, is the meaning of juneteenth. that is what it's about. so let's make this very juneteenth tomorrow the first that our nation will celebrate all together, as one nation. a juneteenth of action on many fronts. one of those -- vaccinations. tomorrow, the vice president will be in atlanta on a bus tour, helping to spread the word like all of you have been doing, on lifesaving vaccines.

and across the country this weekend, including here in washington, people will be canvassing and hosting events in our communities, going door to door, encouraging vaccinations. we have a built equity into the heart of the vaccination program from day one, but we still have more work to do to close the racial gap in vaccination rates. the more we can do that, the more we can save lives. today, it is also the sixth anniversary of the tragic deaths in charleston, south carolina. a killer motivated by hate, intending to start a race war in south carolina. he joined his victims in bible study class, then he took their lives in a house of worship. to -- it's a reminder to root out hate. because hate only hides. it never fully goes away, it hides. and when you raise oxygen under that rock, it comes out.

that is what we must understand. juneteenth represents not only the commemoration of the end of slavery, more than 150 years ago, but the ongoing work to bring true equity and racial justice to american society. which we can do. in short, this date doesn't just celebrate the past. it calls for action today. i wish all americans a happy juneteenth. and i am in a moment going to sign into law, making it a federal holiday. and i have to say to you, i've only been president for several months, but i think this will go down for me as one of the greatest honors i will have had as president. not because i did it, you did it. democrats and republicans. but it's an enormous, enormous honor. thank you for what you have

done, and by the way, it is typical of most of us in congress in the senate. i went down the other end of the whole first and thanked the staff. they are the ones who do the hard work. [laughs] [applause] i will go down at the other end and thank them as well. may god bless you all, and may god protect our troops. thank you. now -- [applause] i would like to invite up while i sign, senator tina smith, senator markey, senator warnock, senator john cornyn, john clyburn, senator barbara lee the, representative danny davis, chair joyce beatty, and sheila jackson lee. and miss opal.

>> just stand there. >> you should have my chair. [inaudible] [inaudible conversations] [applause] that's the first one. go ahead. [applause] i need to make sure.

there you go. thank you. thank you, mister president. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. i need to sign my name. oh, i'm sorry. i thought -- there he is, there is the man.

from texas. does anybody else -- oh, okay, sorry man! thank you, man. >> thank you. >> all right. [applause] [laughs] >> election day next, mister president? election day next? mister president, it's election day next? is the plan to sign election day a national holiday? >> thank you everybody. [applause]

[inaudible conversations] >> lad ieladies and gentlemen, please remain seated while the president and the vice president depart. thank you.

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>> ladies and gentlemen please we mean seated by ladies and gentlemen, please remain seated while the president and vice president depart.

thank you. ♪ ♪ ♪ [noise] >> during a recent concert discussion on his new book, history disrupted, historian jason steinhauer talked about how the internet

is could you bring to our historical knowledge as well as historical misinformation. here is what he had to say. >> this book is set up in a way so that it introduces an idea and that idea is e-history. we will talk about how that is like e-commerce and eat trade. i suggest there is something called e history. it talks about the value structures that are in opposition. the values that underpin the traditional practices of history and those that underpin the web and how the two sets of values clash and why it necessitates-y history. the book then takes you through a series of case studies, wikipedia, twitter, facebook, instagram, which shows how these classes of values play out and why certain e-history that conforms to a set of values and conditions, becomes a visible in your feeds and weather -- and why other