Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey was in Springfield on Wednesday for a brief trip to celebrate Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the end of chattel slavery in the United States.
Speaking at an event with the city's elected officials, Healey took aim at conservatives like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who tried to ban an African-American history class in his state.
"Massachusetts will always be a place where Black history is American history and the face of efforts to, eliminate DEI[diversity, equity and inclusion], that's not going to happen on our watch," she said.
She said Juneteenth is a day for celebration, but also a day to acknowledge the "horrific stain of slavery."
"It's a day to acknowledge those oppressed, those marginalized. And those who continue to suffer," she said. "To me, while this is a day of celebration, it should also be a call to action and a day where we confirm and reconfirm our commitment to advancing equal treatment under the law, committed to not just words, but actions and the laws that we write and the things that we fund and the things that we fight for."
Healey then helped raise a Juneteenth flag at City Hall.
She was joined by Mayor Domenic Sarno, Congressman Richard Neal, and state Representative Bud Williams, who heads the state's Black and Latino Legislative Caucus.
Williams spoke about the history of the holiday and of slavery in the United States. He went on to say while legislation declaring the day a federal holiday is recent, it's history in the Black community is not.
"We've been celebrating Juneteenth in the black community many years. I've been doing it almost 30 years," he said.
