Biden Signs Bill Establishing Juneteenth as a Legal Public Holiday
Today, President Biden signed a bill approving the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, which establishes June 19 as a legal public holiday. The day marks the date that the last enslaved African Americans learned of the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years after it was issued by President Abraham Lincoln. Union Army soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865 with news that enslaved African Americans in the state were now free.
The first Juneteenth celebration was observed on June 19, 1866, when formerly enslaved people in Texas gathered to commemorate their emancipation. The event spread across the United States, becoming the nation’s oldest tradition that recognizes the abolition of slavery and freedom of African Americans.
Many states and municipalities already recognize Juneteenth as a holiday. Juneteenth is the country’s 11th federal public holiday.