With a stroke of his pen, Pres. Biden on Thursday made June 19th – or Juneteenth – the nation’s 12th national holiday.
Passage of the Juneteenth Independence Day legislation recognizes June 19, 1865 as the day enslaved Blacks in Galveston,Tex. were told they were released from chattel bondage. That pronouncement 156 years ago came more than two years after the rest of the nation’s enslaved population was freed. The passage of the new federal holiday comes 48 hours before this year’s Juneteeth is celebrated on Saturday in various states and local communities nationwide.
