Rep. Frank Iler receives 2024 Lincoln/Juneteenth Outreach Award from Brunswick County Republican Party 

The Brunswick County Republican Party presented its 2024 Lincoln/Juneteenth Outreach Award to State Representative Frank Iler during the party’s recent Lincoln-Reagan-Douglass Dinner.  According to the event’s printed program, the award was presented in recognition of Iler’s efforts to carry out the legacy of Abraham Lincoln and understanding of the principle “All Men are Created Equal.”

“From its founding, the Republican Party has stood for justice, equality, and freedom for all,” said Rep. Iler.  “While the Juneteenth celebration was hijacked by others to promote their own agendas, it should be a Republican-led celebration of freedom for all men and women.  When the last group of slaves in Texas was informed on June 19th, 1865, that the war was over and they were free, it was due to the Republican President and the abolition movement.” 

“As a child growing up in the deep South, I witnessed segregation up close, and it was very confusing to a young kid,” Iler continued. “When I got to North Carolina and saw some of the demonstrations in Greensboro, I began to see the changes that were coming.  A few years ago, when a group of Republicans here in our county wanted to celebrate Juneteenth, I felt strongly that I should support it.”