Published:
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
This Juneteenth, I am reflecting on the continued fight for freedom. Enslaved people in Texas waited two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation and two months after the end of the Civil War to learn that they were free. For Black people in the United States, the state of being free, with full rights and autonomy, has always been a journey.
Today, five years after the murder of George Floyd by police and the racial reckoning that followed spurred efforts to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, the national conversation around race and equity has shifted dramatically. As promised, the current administration is pursuing mass deportations, attacking diversity, equity and inclusion practices, suppressing the right to protest and retaliating against political dissidents. With this unprecedented onslaught of attacks on civil rights and civil liberties, the administration has weaponized with intent the executive branch and civil rights laws against Black, Brown and other people of color, immigrants and LGBTQIAS+ people.
In one of many famous quotes, Martin Luther King Jr. called on us to measure ourselves not based on our actions in moments of comfort, but rather, at times of challenge and controversy. As a young adult, I visited the King Center in Atlanta, where I bought a postcard with these words – words that I hung up over my desk when I became an attorney and carried with me from workplace to workplace as a reminder that courage matters in hard times.
Now, at this time of “challenge and controversy”, with our rights threatened and the most vulnerable among us targeted by government oppression, I hold King’s words especially close.
That is why I am so grateful to work beside the committed and brilliant staff at the ACLU-WA, who are vigilant and relentless in this moment, guided by community and those most impacted by injustice in everything we do.
Here are just a few examples of the ACLU-WA’s recent work to safeguard and advance civil rights and civil liberties for all in the courts, the state legislature and with and beside community:
We are, and will remain, Relentless. Together.
In solidarity,
Tonie Davis
Deputy Director, ACLU of Washington
June 14
Today, five years after the murder of George Floyd by police and the racial reckoning that followed spurred efforts to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, the national conversation around race and equity has shifted dramatically. As promised, the current administration is pursuing mass deportations, attacking diversity, equity and inclusion practices, suppressing the right to protest and retaliating against political dissidents. With this unprecedented onslaught of attacks on civil rights and civil liberties, the administration has weaponized with intent the executive branch and civil rights laws against Black, Brown and other people of color, immigrants and LGBTQIAS+ people.
In one of many famous quotes, Martin Luther King Jr. called on us to measure ourselves not based on our actions in moments of comfort, but rather, at times of challenge and controversy. As a young adult, I visited the King Center in Atlanta, where I bought a postcard with these words – words that I hung up over my desk when I became an attorney and carried with me from workplace to workplace as a reminder that courage matters in hard times.
Now, at this time of “challenge and controversy”, with our rights threatened and the most vulnerable among us targeted by government oppression, I hold King’s words especially close.
That is why I am so grateful to work beside the committed and brilliant staff at the ACLU-WA, who are vigilant and relentless in this moment, guided by community and those most impacted by injustice in everything we do.
Here are just a few examples of the ACLU-WA’s recent work to safeguard and advance civil rights and civil liberties for all in the courts, the state legislature and with and beside community:
- We advocated for Senate Bill 5632 to increase protections for bodily autonomy. Updates to the Shield Law, passed by the legislature and signed last month by Gov. Ferguson, ensure that patients seeking medical care in our state and their helpers continue to be protected from out-of-state investigations and punishment.
- ACLU-WA attorneys sent a letter to the Seattle Police Department supporting community demands to end increased and unlawful surveillance and policing of queer and transgender beachgoers at Denny Blaine Park, a historic gathering space for Seattle’s LGBTQIA2S+ community.
- We joined the national ACLU to sue the Trump administration for attempting to dismantle Head Start, a vital, federally funded program that millions of low-income families nationwide rely on to support children’s emotional, social, educational and health needs.
- When the Trump administration threatens civil rights and civil liberties, the ACLU is ready to fight back through our Firewalls for Freedom platform.
- Join us at Juneteenth celebrations in Seattle’s Central District, Vancouver, Tacoma and Kent, where we will be sharing Know Your Rights information at our ACLU-WA booths. For more details about these events and many other ways to celebrate, please visit our Juneteenth Across Washington webpage.
We are, and will remain, Relentless. Together.
In solidarity,
Tonie Davis
Deputy Director, ACLU of Washington
Juneteenth is a day to CELEBRATE and a day to ACTIVATE. Learn more about the holiday here.
A day to celebrate!
Attend and Event
We're popping up across Washington – visit our booth at one of the events listed below. Find a Juneteenth event in your community here.June 14
- Juneteenth Freedom Celebration (Vancouver)
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REVIVAL Juneteenth Market Pop-Up (Central District, Seattle)
June 19
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Juneteenth – Road to Economic Freedom 2025 (Stewart Heights Park, Tacoma)
June 21
Celebrate Black Voices
Listen to our Juneteenth Playlist on Spotify curated by DJ Gabriel Teodros
Patronize Black-owned businesses and restaurants around Washington. Here are a few community resources and directories:
A day to activate.
Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery on June 19th, 1865. However, true freedom for Black Americans is still long overdue. There is much work to be done. Here are some ways that you can learn more about Juneteenth and support community efforts toward liberation.
Learn the History
Support Police Accountability in Washington
Learn about the work the ACLU of Washington and community members are doing to end police violence in our state.
Demand that Congress Pass H.R. 40 Now
We have the power to make reparations for slavery real with H.R. 40, a bill that would set up a commission to examine the institution of slavery and its impact and make recommendations for reparations to Congress. Momentum is building, and the time to act is now. Send a message to your members of Congress urging them to support H.R. 40. Read about and watch a recording of a 2021 community event held in Seattle on H.R. 40 and reparations.
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