FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Governor Andy Beshear signed two major executive orders during Thursday’s Team Kentucky update. Part of one was read by Michael Brown’s son. It says in part, "Certainly, all Kentuckians should give thanks to and celebrate the freedom of enslaved African Americans and their immense contributions to the United States."
Brown's son is carrying on his father's legacy by reading Beshear’s Juneteenth executive order, making Juneteenth a state holiday. These are words Kentucky senator Gerald Neal has been working to hear his entire life.
Neal says, "Every human being needs to be validated and their journey through history, their experiences, their lives, is effected plus or minus is a part of that journey. It is a validation of their existence."
He wants his past acknowledged. He taught his kids about this type of history, and now, three more generations later, he wants his great-grandkids to be proud of it.
"[It] actually put them on the track of wanting to know and reach out and wanting to embrace others even when they disagreed with them,” says Neal.
The other executive order mirrors the Crown Act. It bans workplace discrimination in the state based on hairstyles historically associated with race.
Melinda Wofford is the assistant director of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Motor Vehicle Licensing. She says, "This order makes possible the freedom needed for me to continue to wear my hair in its natural state, the state that God blessed me with."
Wofford is proud of what this moment means. She says, "[I do] not have to worry about someone judging me because of my hair and the way I wear it."
At least 28 other states and D.C. recognized Juneteenth as a holiday, and according to www.SHRM.org, as of last summer, 23 states had Crown Acts. As more people move into the state and more businesses and employees look to come here, these advocates hope this sends a message about the commonwealth's values.
Neal says, "Come, bring what you have. We accept you, let's grow together. That is a welcoming mat. That is a welcoming sign — and I just love the way the governor framed that because that’s exactly the way Kentucky should do business."
