Happy Juneteenth / From Wikipedia, the free encyclope

 

Juneteenth

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Juneteenth
Juneteenth festival in Milwaukee, 2019
Also called	·       Juneteenth National Independence Day ·       Jubilee Day[1] ·       Emancipation Day (TX)[2][3] ·       Freedom Day ·       Black Independence Day[4]
Observed by	United States
Type	Federal
Significance	Emancipation of slaves in states in rebellion against the Union
Observances	African American history, culture and progress
Date	June 19[a]
Frequency	Annually
First time	June 19, 1866 (celebration) June 19, 2021 (federal holiday)[b]
Related to	Emancipation Day

Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Juneteenth marks the anniversary of the announcement of General Order No. 3 by Union Army general Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865, proclaiming freedom for enslaved people in Texas.^[7] Originating in Galveston, the holiday has since been celebrated annually on June 19 in various parts of the United States, often broadly celebrating African-American culture. The day was first recognized as a federal holiday in June 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.^[8][9] The Juneteenth flag is a symbol of the Juneteenth holiday.

Early celebrations date to 1866, at first involving church-centered community gatherings in Texas. They spread across the South and became more commercialized in the 1920s and 1930s, often centering on a food festival. Participants in the Great Migration out of the South carried their celebrations to other parts of the country. During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, these celebrations were eclipsed by the nonviolent determination to achieve civil rights, but grew in popularity again in the 1970s with a focus on African American freedom and African-American arts. Beginning with Texas by proclamation in 1938, and by legislation in 1979, each U.S. state and the District of Columbia have formally recognized the holiday in some way. With its adoption in certain parts of Mexico, the holiday became an international holiday. Juneteenth is celebrated by the Mascogos, descendants of Black Seminoles who escaped from slavery in 1852 and settled in Coahuila, Mexico.^[10][11]

Celebratory traditions often include public readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, singing traditional songs such as "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Lift Every Voice and Sing", and the reading of works by noted African-American writers, such as Ralph Ellison and Maya Angelou. Some Juneteenth celebrations also include rodeos, street fairs, cookouts, family reunions, park parties, historical reenactments, and Miss Juneteenth contests. In 2021, Juneteenth became the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was adopted in 1983.^[12]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth

 

National

Juneteenth National Independence Day Act
Long title	To amend title 5, United States Code, to designate Juneteenth National Independence Day as a legal public holiday.
Enacted by	the 117th United States Congress
Effective	June 17, 2021
Legislative history
·       Introduced in the Senate as S. 475 by Ed Markey (D–MA) on February 25, 2021 ·       Committee consideration by Senate Judiciary ·       Passed the Senate on June 15, 2021 (unanimous consent) ·       Passed the House on June 16, 2021 (415–14) ·       Signed into law by President Joe Biden on June 17, 2021

 

Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States. For decades, activists and congress members (led by many African Americans) proposed legislation, advocated for, and built support for state and national observances. During his campaign for president in June 2020, Joe Biden publicly celebrated the holiday.^[114] President Donald Trump, during his campaign for reelection, added making the day a national holiday part of his "Platinum Plan for Black America".^[115] Spurred on by the advocates and the Congressional Black Caucus, on June 15, 2021, the Senate unanimously passed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act,^[116] establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday; it subsequently passed through the House of Representatives by a 415–14 vote on June 16.^[117][118] President Joe Biden signed the bill (Pub.L. 117–17 (text) (PDF))^[119][120] on June 17, 2021, making Juneteenth the eleventh American federal holiday and the first to obtain legal observance as a federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was designated in 1983.^{[121][122][123]} According to the bill, federal government employees will now get to take the day off every year on June 19, or should the date fall on a Saturday or Sunday, they will get the Monday or Friday closest to the Saturday or Sunday on which the date falls.^[124]