JUNETEENTH National Independence Day was brought to the attention of the public after it was recognized as a federal holiday two years ago.
Before this, the holiday was already celebrated in several different states and was known as an important date commemorating the end of slavery in the US.
What was the first state to make Juneteenth a holiday?
Although the US Senate and House passed the resolution to make Juneteenth a holiday recognized throughout the country in June of 2021, it was already a state holiday in several places.
The first state to mark the occasion as a state holiday was Texas. By 2008, almost half of states in the US observed the holiday.
Texas first made Juneteenth a state holiday in 1980.
All 50 states and the District of Columbia now recognize the day in some form.
However, only a few states regard it as a paid holiday.
Some cities and companies also recognize the holiday. In 2020, Juneteenth was formally recognized by New York City as a yearly official city holiday and public school holiday, starting the year after.
It is officially the 12th federal holiday in America.
What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth commemorates the Emancipation Proclamation
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The holiday celebrates the day slaves in Texas learned of the executive order that marked the last day of slavery in the United States.
It originated in Galveston, Texas, and recognized the day Union General Gordon Granger rode to the city and told slaves of their emancipation in 1865.
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"In accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free,” he read to the crowd there.
Some people celebrate it like the Fourth of July, with gatherings including picnics and parties with family and friends.
Is Juneteenth a national holiday?
The National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, an association based in Mississippi, worked for years to get Juneteenth made into a national holiday.
Their hard work paid off years later, as the resolution establishing June 19 as a holiday was passed in the Senate and the House.
It was previously blocked by Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin in 2020.
However, on June 16, 2021, Joe Biden and Congress passed legislation that declared Juneteenth a federal holiday.
Millions of Americans will join together to commemorate the Emancipation Proclamation today.
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