Washington - Yesterday, a day before the 144th Juneteenth celebration, the United States Senate passed a resolution officially apologizing for slavery and racial segregation.

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) co-sponsored the legislation, and he released the following statement:

"It is an awe-inspiring testament to the greatness of our nation that on issues of race, we have risen from the depths of slavery to the place where we are now, with our unifying, barrier-breaking president. Ours is a great society, but despite the civil rights that our citizens have, it is true that not all the wounds from past issues of race have fully healed. There are unconscionable parts of our history that we should fully come to terms with if we are to ever fully move past them. Slavery and segregation represent the worst of our nation's history, and it is our hope that this action not only acknowledges misdeeds of the past but can also help unite the American people even further. It is all the more poignant that we passed this the day before the anniversary of Juneteenth."

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