Washington, DC – Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a senior member of the House Committees on Judiciary and Homeland Security, Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations, and Member of the House Budget Committee, issued the following statement about her introduction of H.R. 4745, the Emancipation National Historic Trail Act:

“I believe it is imperative that we do our utmost to preserve the historical record and memorialize significant events of our past. That is why I am delighted to introduce H.R. 4745, the Emancipation National Historic Trail Act, which seeks a federal designation of the Emancipation National Historic Trail.

“The Emancipation National Historic Trail extends approximately 51 miles and marks the migration of newly freed slaves, who upon learning of the Emancipation Proclamation two years after the President had signed it into law, departed from what is now the Osterman Building and Reedy Chapel in Galveston, and charted a course along Texas State Highway 3 and Interstate Highway 45 North to Freedmen’s Town and Emancipation Park in Houston.

“This migration route is a beacon to the aspirations of the oppressed who headed west into Houston yearning for a better life. I look forward to the passage of the Emancipation National Historic Trail Act, to codify into the historic record the path taken to a better life by freed slaves and others of African descent.”