--- title: Juneteenth President Obama: Read Statement After Charleston Shooting description: President Obama issued remarks observing the June 19 celebration. Here is his statement in full canonical: https://time.com/3929328/president-obama-juneteenth/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-20T15:20:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T08:23:09.255Z article:section: Politics og:title: Read President Obama's Statement Marking Juneteenth in Wake of Charleston Shooting og:description: Obama issued remarks observing the June 19 celebration og:url: https://time.com/3929328/president-obama-juneteenth/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b3b9689e0c8fb97/6988557a8e06018282461105/obama7.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Barack Obama og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read President Obama's Statement Marking Juneteenth in Wake of Charleston Shooting twitter:description: Obama issued remarks observing the June 19 celebration twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b3b9689e0c8fb97/6988557a8e06018282461105/obama7.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read President Obama's Statement Marking Juneteenth in Wake of Charleston Shooting ## Video: Families Remember The Charleston Victims [Watch (HLS stream): Families Remember The Charleston Victims](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jEIGaOIa.m3u8) (1:26)  _Published 2015-06-19. Families Remember The Charleston Victims_ by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Jun 20, 2015 3:20 PM UTC  President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks about gun violence at the Annual Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in San Francisco, June 19, 2015. President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks about gun violence at the Annual Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in San Francisco, June 19, 2015.Carolyn Kaster—AP by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Jun 20, 2015 3:20 PM UTC On this day 150 years ago, more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, the slaves of Galveston, Texas finally received word that the Civil War was over. They were free. A century and a half later, Americans still recognize this occasion, Juneteenth, as a symbolic milestone on our journey toward a more perfect union. At churches and in parks, lined up for parades and gathered around the barbecue pit, communities come together and celebrate the enduring promise of our country: that all of us are created equal. Yet this year, our celebrations are tinged with sorrow. Our prayers are with the nine members of the Mother Emanuel community — nine members of our American family — whose God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were so cruelly snatched away. Our hearts go out to their families, their friends, and the entire city of Charleston. We don’t have to look far to see that racism and bigotry, hate and intolerance, are still all too alive in our world. Just as the slaves of Galveston knew that emancipation is only the first step toward true freedom, just as those who crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge 50 years ago knew their march was far from finished, our work remains undone. For as long as people still hate each other for nothing more than the color of their skin – and so long as it remains far too easy for dangerous people to get their hands on a gun – we cannot honestly say that our country is living up to its highest ideals. But Juneteenth has never been a celebration of victory, or an acceptance of the way things are. Instead, it’s a celebration of progress. It’s an affirmation that despite the most painful parts of our history, things do get better. America can change. So no matter our color or our creed, no matter where we come from or who we love, today is a day to find joy in the face of sorrow, to count our blessings and hold the ones we love a little closer. 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