"I was so happy I could have done a holy dance," she said. Importantly, making Juneteenth a Federal holiday was only one part of my Administrations efforts to advance racial equity and ensure that America lives up to its highest ideals. "And now we can all finally celebrate. The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act was signed into law on June 17, 2021, two days before the 2021 Juneteenth holiday. Now that Juneteenth has been recognized as a national holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S., just in time for Saturday's June 19 anniversary, advocates are weighing in on how Americans should mark the occasion and what the day should mean to the country going forward. "I was thinking that surely, somebody would see a little old lady in tennis shoes trying to get to Congress and notice," she said, laughing at the memory. He's not any great hero. Still, several House Republicans raised the same issue Wednesday, including Rep. James Comer, who voted in favor of the bill. President Biden on Thursday signed a bill to recognize Juneteenth the celebration to commemorate the end of chattel slavery in the United States as a federal holiday. Please enable JavaScript to use this feature. I call upon the people of the United States to acknowledge and celebrate the end of the Civil War and the emancipation of Black Americans, and commit together to eradicate systemic racism that still undermines our founding ideals and collective prosperity. Last year, the U.S. designated Juneteenth a federal holiday with President Joe Biden urging Americans "to learn from our history.". She said, as did most advocates, that Juneteenth becoming a holiday doesn't erase racial disparities in the U.S., but allows a better opportunity to address them. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, shown here speaking last year, was a co-sponsor of the bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. Over several weeks, Lee arrived in cities where she'd been invited to speak and walked 2 miles to symbolize the 2 years that it took for enslaved people in Texas to learn they were free. It wasn't a straight line. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Despite the bipartisan victory, advocates said the country is still far from healing the wounds from America's "original sin.". NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the But we know there is more to do. So you're free, but don't go anywhere. Senate unanimously approves bill to make Juneteenth a holiday. "I'll be thinking of my ancestors. Berry said of those still enslaved after the war. As a result, Black unemployment has been at a historic low and we are increasing access to affordable homeownership for Black Americans and combating bias in the home appraisal process. Moreover, "There was an incredibly sophisticated communication network among slaves in Texas," says Edward T. Cotham, Jr., Texas Civil War historian and author of Juneteenth, The Story Behind The Celebration. WebU.S. The next year, the now-free people started celebrating Juneteenth in Galveston. Juneteenth became a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, when the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act was signed into law. Dartmouth history professor Matthew Delmont joins LX News to discuss celebrating the holiday respectfully. Nearly half of respondents said Juneteenth should be added to public schools' history curriculum whereas 35% of Americans said last month it should be a national holiday. As communicated in acommunity message earlier this week, Juneteenth not only acknowledges the end of American slavery, but also celebrates the advancements of the Black community and serves as both a reminder and an opportunity for greater recognition of and education on issues of race, Black culture and Black history. He may have written out the order and advised on its wording, but Granger would have paid very close attention to the language, including the reference to freedom meaning "an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves. It passed out of House committee for the first time earlier this year, but is still waiting a full floor vote. The legislation designating Juneteenth a Michigan holiday was unsuccessful in We'll be in touch with the latest information on how President Biden and his administration are working for the American people, as well as ways you can get involved and help our country build back better. As a candidate, Biden acknowledged the systemic racism that has since the country's founding plagued the institutions foundational to personal success, including the housing market, criminal justice and environmental concerns. Technically, there is no such thing as a national holiday, because neither the president nor Congress has ever asserted power to declare a holiday that binds all 50 states, according to the Congressional Research Service. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Granger delivered General Order No. Equality Juneteenth Is Now a National Holiday. To get around the controversy, he eventually signed a bill declaring two holidays: Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Confederate Memorial Day, which is celebrated in May. When he took office in January, Biden inherited a nation on the brink, with protests and counterprotests against social issues like police use of force threatening to erode the public trust and set back some of the progress the nation has made in its conversations on race over the past decades. Berry also emphasized that in the earliest celebrations of Juneteenth, education was essential to the festivities -- and suggested that stay central to celebrations moving forward. However, that doesnt mean that all Americans will receive a day off from work, as employees in the private sector may or may not get the day off, depending on their employer. Creative Commons. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way, Excellence in Education Award Nominations. The best way to do that, she figured, was to help get Juneteenth accepted as a national holiday. Juneteenth is an annual holiday observing the end of slavery in The bill now goes to the House. A celebration in observance of Juneteenth, including an interview with former President Obama who talks about race, resilience and healing the racial divide. Professor emeritus Clayborne Carson, director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project at Stanford University, sees some similarities between the movements for a King holiday and the one commemorating Juneteenth. Juneteenth is a holiday that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. This guide shares a brief historyand explains how to plan your celebration. On June 19, 1865, shortly after the end of the Civil War, Union troops arrived to take control of Galveston, Texas. With the expansion of the Child Tax Credit under the American Rescue Plan, we cut Black child poverty by half. Do you celebrate Juneteenth? It is now a federal holiday, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. In South Bend it is also now a city holiday, and city employees will get the day off. ", June Collins Pulliam is a fifth-generation Galvestonian whose enslaved great-great-grandparents, Horace and Emily Scull, were freed by the Juneteenth Order. What kind of brutality did they face in that period of time? "Juneteenth marks both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation, and the promise of a greater morning to come," Biden said. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Juneteenth is celebrated annually on the 19th of June to mark the date some of the last enslaved people in the Confederacy became free. What is Juneteenth? The holiday has also been called Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day. We must recognize that Black Americans, among other people of color, have shouldered a disproportionate burden of loss while also carrying us through disproportionately as essential workers and health care providers on the front lines of the crisis. On Tuesday, 4 July, millions of Americans will celebrate Independence Day. Even then, it took nearly two more decades for all individual states also to recognize the holiday. But today is a day of celebration. The holiday has been celebrated in 47 states and the District of Columbia, but now, if passed through the Senate, will be recognized on a national level. hide caption. The attempts to have Juneteenth declared a federal holiday were, however, decades in the making. Professor Clayborne Carson says he sees some similarities in the movements for a holiday celebrating the Rev. ", Professor Clayborne Carson says he sees some similarities in the movements for a holiday celebrating the Rev. We come to terms with them. The Senate has unanimously passed a bill to establish Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Since most financial institutions follow the Fed's holiday schedule, the vast majority of banks are expected to be closed on Monday as well. A long legacy of systemic racism, inequality, and inhumanity. Follow FOX 17: Facebook - Twitter - Instagram - YouTube. He was at the low point.". "We want to train not only the children but we've got to go back and train the children's first teachers, their parents, because many do not know about Juneteenth," she said. Last year, Whitmer collaborated with state and union leaders to make Juneteenth a state holiday for state employees. But he said he's amazed by the momentum of the latest movement, which until a few years ago was not a part of the mainstream conversation. Although the distinction comes during a debate over how to teach the foundations of slavery and its lasting impacts, the same Gallup poll from May found that Americans were actually more supportive of teaching the history of Juneteenth in schools than of making it a federal holiday. "When people understand what actually happened, they can digest it and decide that this doesn't have to happen again," Lee said. Juneteenth, which takes place annually on June 19, marks the true end of slavery in the United States. Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn State. The whole country together," Lee told NPR minutes after a landslide House vote on Wednesday approving legislation establishing the day, now known as Juneteenth, D.C. statehood is a voting rights issue is a civil rights issue of our time.". People pray together during a Juneteenth event at Centennial Olympic Park on June 19, 2020, in Atlanta. This is the first federal holiday approved since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983. Lee is continuing her campaign by walking 2.5 miles, she says, to represent the two and a half years slaves in Texas didn't know they were free -- the origin story of Juneteenth. Federal workers and officials in Washington are already enjoying an unexpected Friday off -- as states, localities and groups all over the country mark the occasion on Saturday's 156th anniversary. "How many lives were lost? On Juneteenth, we recommit ourselves to the work of equity, equality, and justice. And nothing good comes from when you don't know your neighbor.". First introduced by Congress in 1885 when it was decided that federal employees should have certain days off from work, the list of US federal holidays is made up of 11 days of significance that Americans recognise - and celebrate. Not often in highlighted in the nation's history books -- if there at all -- it's a day not everyone has heard of. "Now that we've gotten the recognition, we can build off that momentum for reparations," said Deborah Evans, communications director with the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation. ", Despite the "history of its ills," Jackson Lee said, "What better concept to rally around in the idea of freedom for us all? You have JavaScript disabled. ", Editor's note: After NPR posted this story, the descendants of Gen. Granger contacted us to offer a rebuttal. Myth #2: Major Gen. Gordon Granger penned General Orders No. Earlier on Tuesday, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. who blocked the bill from passing last year dropped his objection to the holiday. Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Sheila Jackson, both of Texas, first proposed the bill last summer amid national protests over the murder of George Floyd, but it did not garner enough support. Her annual walks culminated in a trip to the Capitol in September, carrying a petition signed by 1 million Americans urging Congress to pass legislation for a federal holiday. she added. I am pleased to see the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act become law because I believe it may enable more Americans to learn about Black history and culture, and to understand the continuing need to addressinjustice and inequality. He described slavery as a moral stain on the country and said enslavement of Black Americans was the nation's "original sin.". Washington, DC 20500. Observed on June 19, the nations newest federal holiday commemorates the end of slavery in Texas.
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