President Biden signs bill making Juneteenth an official federal holiday
It was 156 years in the making, but Juneteenth, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, is officially a federal holiday.
President Biden signed a bill Thursday formally designating June 19th as Juneteenth.
The holiday commemorates the day in 1865 when slaves in Texas finally got word the Civil War had ended and they were freed, two months after the Confederacy surrendered.
“Juneteenth marks both a long, hard night of slavery and subjugation and a promise of a brighter morning to come,” Biden said. “Great nations don’t ignore their most painful moments. They don’t ignore those moments in the past. They embrace them. Great nations don’t walk away.
“We come to terms with the mistakes we made. And remembering those moments, we begin to heal and grow stronger,” he added.
The ceremony in the East Room of the White House included lawmakers and 94-year-old Opal Lee, who campaigned to make the day a national holiday. A lifelong activist, Lee walked from her home in Fort Worth, Texas to Washington D.C. five years ago to push for federal recognition.
On June 19, 1865, Union Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed enslaved African-Americans that the Civil War was over and that they were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, signed two years earlier by President Abraham Lincoln.
Granger arrived in Galveston two months after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at the Battle of Appomattox Court House in Virginia. But soldiers in Texas — a Confederate state — didn’t lay down arms until weeks after Lee’s surrender.
“When we establish a national holiday, it makes an important statement. National holidays are something important,” Vice President Kamala Harris said. “These are days when we as a nation have decided to stop and take stock, and often to acknowledge our history.
“Throughout history, Juneteenth has been known by many names: Jubilee Day, Freedom Day, Liberation Day, Emancipation Day, and today, a national holiday,” she added.
Harris, the nation’s first Black vice president, remarked that the White House was built by slaves and the ceremony Thursday was being held steps away from where Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
Known officially as the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, Harris also signed off on the measure as a procedural step in her capacity as Senate president.
“We have come far, and we have far to go. But today is a day of celebration. It is not only a day of pride. It’s also a day for us to reaffirm and rededicate ourselves to action,” Harris said.
Biden and Harris noted racial disparities still exist in the U.S. when it comes to education, housing and voting rights and vowed to work towards equality.
“You see this assault from restrictive laws, threats of intimidation, voter purges and more,” Biden said. “We can’t rest until the promise of equality is fulfilled for everyone in every corner of this nation. That to me is the meaning of Juneteenth.”
Biden noted during his remarks that Thursday marked the sixth anniversary of the mass shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C. that left nine African-American parishioners dead.
The president said the anniversary is “a reminder that our work to root out hate never ends.”
The change comes after a year fraught with tension as calls for police accountability and protests roiled the nation in the wake of the killings of Black Americans by cops and as Republican state legislatures seek to restrict voting rights.
Since the 19th falls on a Saturday this year, most federal employees will observe the holiday tomorrow, June 18th, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
The New York Stock Exchange will remain open, but officials said they’re considering closing markets in honor of the holiday next year.
Juneteenth is first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created in 1983.
Dr. Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., called the passage of the bill “an important moment of reckoning.”
“This nation now will have an opportunity to learn even more about this important history that African Americans have faced,” she said. “It’s a moment that creates a more sense of inclusion.
“A lot of Black Americans don’t feel included on our Independence Day as a nation because so many of our ancestors were not free,” she added.
The Senate voted unanimously in favor of the holiday. But 14 Republican members of the House opposed the bill, with some arguing the designation will be divisive.
“Since I believe in treating everyone equally, regardless of race, and that we should be focused on what unites us rather than our differences, I will vote no,” Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) said.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) defended the measure, which was introduced by Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey, both Democrats.
“Our federal holidays are purposely few in number and recognize the most important milestones,” Maloney said. “I cannot think of a more important milestone to commemorate than the end of slavery in the United States.”
Most states already recognize Juneteenth as a holiday or observe the day in some capacity. It’s a paid holiday for state employees in Texas, Virginia, Washington and in New York, as of last year.
Gov. Cuomo signed a bill in October designating Juneteenth as an official public holiday following civil unrest over racism and police brutality that engulfed the nation with the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
“This important day — which we declared an official holiday in New York State last year — reminds us of the injustices our Black communities continue to face, while also serving as an opportunity to celebrate those who fought tirelessly for abolition throughout our history,” Cuomo said Thursday. “May we all be inspired by those heroes who fought and scarified, so we can continue to make change in favor of a more fair and equal society.”
After vowing to do the same for city workers, a similar proposal from Mayor de Blasio never materialized.
State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) said the federal recognition of the day means a lot to African-Americans, but noted the country has a long way to go.
“The Juneteenth holiday is a reminder of our past and a celebration of freedom,” she said. “It recognizes the day when the last enslaved African Americans in the Confederacy were informed about their emancipation.
“As we enjoy this festive day, we also recognize that there is still progress to be made,” she added.
With News Wire Services
