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<div>Good morning all,</div>
<div>I’d like to start by saying happy Father’sDay to all the amazing fathers in our great affiliate. We love you and appreciate all of Your hard work and dedication to your children. Your efforts have definitely not been missed. I for one am overjoyed to
say happy Father’sDay to all of you!</div>
<div>Of course this is an momentous day in Black history as well, Juneteenth, today slavery truly came to an end. As a nation we continue to make great strides toward a future of equality. And this holiday is a way to look back on some of our successes. Please
harness the positive nature of such a momentous occasion to fuel your continued efforts to not only support our movement as the nations blind, but to push our nations movement for equity and Inclusion forward. </div>
<div>Here is an excerpt from a New York Times article about Juneteenth. Once again happy holidays to all</div>
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Juneteenth (short for “June Nineteenth”) marks the day when federal troops arrived in <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/1900-galveston-hurricane" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: rgb(232, 12, 48); transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;">Galveston</a>, <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/us-states/texas" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: rgb(232, 12, 48); transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;">Texas</a> in
1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. The troops’ arrival came a full two and a half years after <a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lincoln-signs-emancipation-proclamation" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: rgb(232, 12, 48); transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;">the
signing</a> of the <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/emancipation-proclamation" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: rgb(232, 12, 48); transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;">Emancipation Proclamation</a>.
Juneteenth honors the end to slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. On June 17, 2021, it <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/06/18/a-proclamation-on-juneteenth-day-of-observance-2021/" rel="noopener" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: rgb(232, 12, 48); transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;">officially
became a federal holiday</a>. </p>
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Confederate General <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/robert-e-lee" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: rgb(232, 12, 48); transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;">Robert E. Lee</a>had surrendered at <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/appomattox-court-house" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: rgb(232, 12, 48); transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;">Appomattox
Court House</a> two months earlier in Virginia, but slavery had remained relatively unaffected in Texas—until U.S. General Gordon Granger stood on Texas soil and read General Orders No. 3: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation
from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”</p>
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<div>Qualik Ford</div>
<div>Email: qsford@outlook.com </div>
<div>Phone number: 301-312-9813 </div>
<div>National Federation Of The Blind Of Maryland affiliate board member</div>
<div>Maryland Association of blind students president</div>
<div>Maryland affiliate Diversity equity and inclusion committee cochair</div>
<div>National Association of Blind students diversity equity and inclusion committee cochair</div>
<div>Maryland affiliate Sports and recreation cochair</div>
<div>Blind industries and services of Maryland rehabilitation instructor</div>
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