Oh Goodie

[XCR1250]

Senate passes bill to establish Juneteenth as a national holiday

Marquise Francis

·National Reporter & Producer

Tue, June 15, 2021, 5:13 PM

 

 

The Senate passed a bill Tuesday to establish Juneteenth, the day marking the end of slavery in the United States, as a national holiday.

After passing by unanimous consent, the bill now heads to the House of Representatives, where its passage is all but assured, then on to President Biden’s desk for signature into law.

Celebrated on June 19, Juneteenth, or Freedom Day, recognizes and marks the emancipation of formerly enslaved African Americans, commemorating the date in 1865 when slaves in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom.

More than 150 years later, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., made a motion to pass the bill via unanimous consent. No other senator objected, including Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who dropped his previous objection to the bill.

“While it still seems strange that having taxpayers provide federal employees paid time off is now required to celebrate the end of slavery, it is clear that there is no appetite in Congress to further discuss the matter,” Johnson said.

 

Juneteenth is celebrated in Philadelphia in 2019, the year it was declared an official state holiday by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf. (Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto)

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, first introduced the bill last spring at the height of racial tension in the country following the murder of George Floyd, but they could not garner the support needed. Now, about a year later, the bill included 18 GOP co-sponsors.

“It has been a state holiday in Texas for more than 40 years,” Cornyn tweeted Tuesday afternoon. “Now more than ever, we need to learn from our history and continue to form a more perfect union.”

While Juneteenth has been celebrated by some Black Americans since the late 1800s, the holiday has gained in popularity in recent years. Today, cities and towns across the country mark the date with festivals, parades, barbecues and educational events.

 

A Juneteenth celebration at the memorial for George Floyd in Minneapolis last year. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

“The stakes are a little different,” Mark Anthony Neal, a Duke University African American studies professor, told the New York Times last June. “Many Black Americans feel as though this is the first time in a long time that they have been heard in a way across the culture. ... It’s an opportunity for folks to kind of catch their breath about what has been this incredible pace of change and shifting that we’ve seen.”

If the bill is passed in the House and signed by the president, Juneteenth would become the 11th annual federal holiday.

[Angry ginger]

SMH another made up holiday

[Fireball 440]

Wait, I thought we cancelled slavery 150 years ago. . Wasn't good enough I guess.

[800renegaderider]

This is great news will this be a paid holiday 🤞 

[Zambroski]

I'm heading to Hallmark today for the cards.

[XCR1250]

Congress passes bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday

By Annie Grayer and Daniella Diaz, CNN

 

Updated 4:56 PM ET, Wed June 16, 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The House passed legislation Wednesday that would establish June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day, a US federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, sending the bill to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature.

The bill passed the House 415-14 after the Senate unanimously passed the legislation Tuesday. The 14 Republicans to vote against the bill were Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Mo Brooks of Alabama, Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin, Doug LaMalfa of California, Tom McClintock of California, Mike Rogers of Alabama, Matt Rosendale of Montana, Ronny Jackson of Texas, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Chip Roy of Texas and Paul Gosar of Arizona.

The legislation was previously blocked by conservative Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin in 2020, but he dropped his objection this week despite his concerns, allowing the bill to advance out of the chamber.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced that the House would vote Wednesday in a tweet where he thanked the bill's bipartisan sponsors, which included Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts.

"I look forward to bringing this bill to the Floor, and urge bipartisan support," Hoyer wrote.

Jackson Lee told reporters ahead of the final passage, "what I see here today is racial divide crumbling, being crushed this day under a momentous vote that brings together people who understand the value of freedom."

 

Juneteenth's path to becoming a federal holiday was a long time coming

Ahead of the vote, Markey acknowledged that Biden is still overseas on his first international trip, but told reporters "we will be communicating with the White House" about getting this legislation signed as soon as possible.

The legislation has gained momentum after the Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd last year and the Democrats' takeover of the White House and Congress.

On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger announced in Galveston, Texas, the end of slavery in accordance with President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.

In 1980, Juneteenth became a Texas state holiday. In the decades since, every state but South Dakota came to officially commemorate Juneteenth, but only a handful of states observe it as a paid holiday.

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments Wednesday.