US Senate Passes Bill to make Juneteenth a Federal Holiday
The US Senate passed a bill on June 15, 2021 that would make Juneteenth, or June 19th, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the nation. Juneteenth would become the 12th federal holiday. Most expect it to easily pass the House, which then would send it to President Joe Biden for approval. If the bill is enacted, the federal holiday would be known as "Juneteenth National Independence Day."
As reported in the June, 2021 edition of Fair Housing News: "Juneteenth is a celebration of emancipation and Black liberation. Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the US, and one of several “Emancipation Days” observed by Black diasporic communities in the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, and the US. The holiday is celebrated on June 19th because on that date in 1865 Union soldiers told enslaved persons in Texas that the US Civil War had ended and that they had been freed from bondage by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Freed Black and Afro-Indigenous people from Texas brought the celebration with them when they migrated to other states. Juneteenth is a communal celebration, nowadays commemorated with events like block parties, cookouts, parades, and rodeos. Like many memorial occasions in the Black diasporic tradition, Juneteenth is a celebratory, instead of solemn, commemoration.. Baltimore City celebrates Juneteenth with events like the Juneteenth Open Air Celebration at the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum, Juneteenth Popup at Hanover Cross Street, and the Reservoir Hill Association Present Juneteenth. The Maryland Legislature passed a bill in 2021 making Juneteenth a holiday, and some counties celebrate it this way also, such as Howard County as of 2021. For more events in Baltimore, go to https://www.eventbrite.hk/d/md--baltimore/black-history/." Sources: The Voter, League of Women Voters of Baltimore County, May/June, 2021. https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/howard/cng-ho-juneteenth-announcement-20210408-fj4fglngzbewhmgawm5e4usgna-story.html. https://www.chesapeakefamily.com/juneteenth-freedom-day-maryland-events-for-2021/.
The Senate passed the Juneteenth bill under a unanimous consent agreement that speeds the process for considering legislation. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass. with 60 co-sponsors. Markey tweeted on June 14, 2021: “We have a long road towards racial justice in the United States and we cannot get there without acknowledging our nation’s original sin of slavery. It is long past time to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.”
Many states recognize Juneteenth as a holiday or have an official observance of the day, and most states hold celebrations. Juneteenth is a paid holiday for state employees in Texas, New York, Virginia and Washington.
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Source: Associated Press article, June 16, 2021. https://apnews.com/article/senate-approves-juneteenth-federal-holiday-58d4fbd343f17df0b03dd0d0a221e452.
