The United States has a new federal holiday.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law at a Washington ceremony as Vice President Kamala Harris, civil rights activist Opal Lee — who Biden called the “grandmother of the movement to make Juneteenth a federal holiday” — and other supporters looked on.
Juneteenth, also known as Jubilee Day or Emancipation Day, commemorates the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans in the United States.
The Civil War came to an end on April 9, 1865, with the surrender of the Confederacy in Appomattox County, Virginia.
Two months later and 1,200 miles away, on June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger issued an order in Galveston, Texas, proclaiming the end of slavery in Texas.
That was in accordance with the Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln in September 1862. The proclamation, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 1863, outlawed slavery in states such as Texas that had seceded from the Union but hadn’t yet been taken back under Northern control.
Slavery in the United States would be finally and officially abolished on Dec. 18, 1865, when the 13th Amendment to the U.S. The Constitution was adopted.
“Juneteenth marks both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation, and a promise of a brighter morning to come,” said Biden at the signing ceremony, calling it a day of “profound weight and profound power.”
Many states have observed Juneteenth for some time, including Texas, which has marked the day since 1980, and California, which has formally celebrated Juneteenth since 2003.
The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act was introduced by a group that included Senators Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18).
It passed the U.S. Senate with unanimous consent on Tuesday, with the House of Representatives passing it on Wednesday.
Lake County’s members of Congress, Rep. John Garamendi (CA-03) and Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05), both voted for the bill.
Then, on Thursday, the bill went to President Biden, who signed it into law and made it effective immediately.
Biden thanked the members of Congress — in particular, the Congressional Black Caucus — who worked to make a Juneteenth federal holiday.
“I’m especially pleased that we showed the nation that we can come together as Democrats and Republicans to commemorate this day with the overwhelming bipartisan support of the Congress. I hope this is the beginning of a change in the way we deal with one another,” said Biden.
The new holiday already is being rolled out for federal agencies.
Paul Meznarich of the Mendocino National Forest said they got the word on Thursday that the forest’s offices would be closed on Friday in observance of the new holiday.
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Juneteenth becomes federal holiday
- Elizabeth Larson
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