Will Martin is the Republican Party-endorsed candidate for Wisconsin lieutenant governor. The primary is in August.

Wisconsin, the Republican Party, and Juneteenth hold a special place in my heart, and they are inextricably bound. After generations of slavery, it was Wisconsin that formed the Republican Party – the Freedom Party – shortly after statehood.

It was our political party that transformed the nation’s conscience and began a national movement for freedom. It was the Republican Party that literally fought to free 4 million souls, that fought for passage of every constitutional amendment and statute for Civil Rights ever enacted in this nation, from prohibiting future slavery and race-based discrimination to extending citizenship and voting rights.

Juneteenth commemorates the day – June 19, 1865 – the last enslaved people, down in Galveston, Texas, heard the Emancipation Proclamation. Once again, there is a Wisconsin connection. Among the soldiers there to witness that historic reading of the Emancipation Proclamation were African-American troops from the Badger State.

I grew up with my great-grandfather, a Baptist preacher. He was born free, the first generation to be free in my family tree. As Republicans, we are the political sons and daughters of those earliest Wisconsinites, who were true Freedom Fighters.

Our forefathers and foremothers bled and, in some cases, died that this nation could fgree millions like my great-grandfather’s parents. So, on this and every Juneteenth, I celebrate how Wisconsin and the Republican Party helped the USA become a more perfect union. It is not a substitute for the Fourth of July; it is an extension of the freedom ignited across this nation 250 years ago.