WHEREAS, Maine enjoys a large, vibrant Franco-American community, largely as a result of French Canadians immigrating to the state between 1840 and 1930; and

WHEREAS, at least twenty-five percent of Maine citizens claim Franco-American heritage, and French is the second-most spoken language in the state; and

WHEREAS, the significant cultural, economic, and civic contributions made by Franco-Americans have enriched the culture and lives of Maine people; and

WHEREAS, An Act To Create a James Weldon Johnson Annual Observance Day and an Observance Task Force was enacted in Maine on June 20, 2021, to honor the life and perpetuate the legacy of one of our nation’s great Civil Rights leaders, that of the author, educator, journalist, lawyer, and diplomat James Weldon Johnson; and

WHEREAS, on January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, officially ending slavery in the United States; and

WHEREAS, the freedom of most slaves depended on the advancement of the Union Army led by General Gordon Granger, who enforced the President’s order in Texas on June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed; and

WHEREAS, Robert Browne Hall was born into a musical family living in Bowdoinham, Maine on June 30, 1858; and

WHEREAS, R.B. Hall accepted a call to rebuild the Bangor Band in the early 1880s and he accomplished this task with such skill that the grateful citizens on Bangor presented him with a gold Boston Three Star Ne-Plus cornet; and

WHEREAS, throughout our nation’s history, women have served honorably and courageously both on and off the battlefield, though initially in limited and traditional gender roles such as nurses, cooks, and in other administrative support roles; and

WHEREAS, during World War I, women enlisted in the Navy as Yeoman (F) and the Marine Corps as Reservists (F) to serve on the home front as truck drivers, mechanics, radio operators, translators, and munitions workers, filling in for men who were deployed overseas; and

WHEREAS, older adults contribute expertise, time, wisdom, and experience to our great state and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity; and

WHEREAS, June 15th marks the 20th annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older adults and recognize the significance of elder abuse as a public health and human rights issue; and

WHEREAS, the Stonewall riots that began on June 28, 1969, sparked the LGBTQ rights movement in America; and

WHEREAS, during these riots, LGBTQ citizens, led by transgender women of color, rose up and resisted police harassment that arose out of discriminatory criminal laws that have since been declared unconstitutional; and

WHEREAS, in the decades since the Stonewall riots, Pride celebrations have taken place around the country every June to commemorate this historic turning point for the LGBTQ community; and

WHEREAS, in keeping since 1939, June has been designated as the time to celebrate the bounty of dairy products and pay tribute to U.S. dairy farmers and their contribution to and important role in agriculture; and

WHEREAS, one hundred thirty-seven Maine dairy farms care for herds of cows, goats, and sheep and steward 700,000 acres of desirable and critical farmland, which also provide numerous public benefits in addition to agricultural products, such as scenic and open spaces that enhance their communities; and