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In a rare bipartisan vote in the House, Juneteenth, the day marking the end of slavery in the United States, was declared a public holiday. The resolution was carried 415-14. The Senate had approved the bill a day earlier. President Joe Biden is expected to sign to turn it into the law.
Juneteenth is observed on June 19. Although it has been celebrated in the U.S. for many years, the momentum to declare it a federal holiday has gathered in the last one year ever since the death of George Floyd and the ‘Black Lives Matter' protests across the nation. [https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2021-06-16/congress-approves-juneteenth-national-holiday]
It was in 1865 that the Union troops reached the slaves on the island of Galveston, Texas, and told them that they were free. This was nearly three years after the emancipation proclamation had already been signed by President Abraham Lincoln. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/juneteenth-federal-holiday/2021/06/16/7be284d8-ceba-11eb-a7f1-52b8870bef7c_story.html]
Its importance can be gauged from the fact that it is the first federal holiday created by Congress since 1983 when Martin Luther King Jr. Day was declared a national holiday.
The declaration is seen as a milestone in the history of Congress and also the efforts to come to terms with the history of slavery in the United States. A day of significance for African Americans, it has been a holiday in as many as 48 states including Texas.
Making Juneteenth a federal holiday is “a crucial step in remembering our past, and it will undoubtedly help us build a better future,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who introduced the bill on the floor.
Among the handful who voted against the bill was the Republican party Representative. Matthew M. Rosendale. He said in a statement, “Let’s call an ace an ace. This is an effort by the Left to create a day out of whole cloth to celebrate identity politics as part of its larger efforts to make Critical Race Theory the reigning ideology of our country.”
Read more:
News on the passing of the bill:
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/16/house-passes-bill-to-make-juneteenth-a-federal-holiday-sending-it-to-biden.html
Listen to the history and importance of Juneteenth:
https://soundcloud.com/littler-diversity-inclusion/137-the-history-and-importance-of-juneteenth
Why Juneteenth is important:
https://www.unmc.edu/news.cfm?match=25786