Will Juneteenth become a federal holiday? Know all about the special day

For much of US history, Juneteenth has been a day celebrating the symbolic end of slavery, mainly commemorated by Black Americans. The tide has shifted dramatically after the assassination of George Floyd, last year, which sparked the reckoning. Many businesses observe the day by giving their staff the day off.

Will Juneteenth become a federal holiday?

The House voted 415-14 to declare June 19, or Juneteenth, a national holiday honouring the abolition of slavery in the United States, marking the first new federal holiday in over four decades. As Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D., Texas), the bill's sponsor, read the final vote tally, cheers erupted around the House chamber late Wednesday. The bill cleared the Senate overwhelmingly on Tuesday, and President Biden plans to sign it into law on Thursday afternoon, according to his schedule. The bill would elevate Memorial Day to the same level as Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and other official holidays.

Establishing the holiday, according to congressional leaders from both parties, was a significant step in commemorating those who suffered as a result of American slavery, as well as an act of racial healing. Juneteenth would be the first official holiday declared by Congress since 1983 when legislators declared Martin Luther King Jr. Day on the third Monday in January in honour of the assassinated civil rights leader.

• Check the bill here.

To amend title 5, United States Code, to designate Juneteenth National Independence Day as a legal public holiday.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:55 Mar 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S475.IS S475 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 475 IS 1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Juneteenth National 3 Independence Day Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. JUNETEENTH NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE DAY AS A 5 LEGAL PUBLIC HOLIDAY. 6 Section 6103(a) of title 5, United States Code, is 7 amended by inserting after the item relating to Memorial 8 Day the following: 9 ‘‘Juneteenth National Independence Day, June 10 19.’’

What is Juneteenth?

The liberation of individuals who had been slaves in the United States of America is commemorated on Juneteenth. The holiday began in Texas and is now observed yearly on June 19 across the United States. It is also known as Emancipation Day or Freedom Day, and it studies and celebrates the history and legacy of African Americans.

After a hiatus during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, Juneteenth resurfaced in towns across the country in the 1980s and 1990s, with Texas being the first state to declare it a holiday in 1980. Leaders from throughout the country met at New Orleans' Christian Unity Baptist Church in 1994 to urge for even more recognition of June 19's significance.

The National Juneteenth Observance Foundation was founded as a result of that conference, which spawned a variety of organisations and causes committed to celebrating and celebrating Juneteenth. Rev. Ronald Myers, the group's founder and chairman, launched a campaign in 2000 to make it a nationwide day of observation and to have it recognised as a state holiday or commemoration in all 50 states and US territories.

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