WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) on Friday announced they will introduce Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, legislation to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.
“Juneteenth”, observed on June 19, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States and is also known as “Emancipation Day”, “Jubilee Day”, and “Juneteenth Independence Day”.
“This legislation to make Juneteenth a federal holiday is but one step we can take to begin to right the wrongs of the past in order to ensure equal justice in the future.
“Juneteenth is the oldest celebration of the end of slavery in the United States—it should be recognized as a federal holiday,” said Senator Smith.
“The celebration of Juneteenth is about far more than remembering the day in 1865 when, more than two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, enslaved Texans were finally freed from the bondage of slavery,” said Senator Booker.
