US President Joe Biden has signed the Juneteenth Bill today, marking the end of slavery; two days ahead of the actual day, which takes place on 19 June every year.
“This will go down as one of the greatest honours I have had as President,” stated Biden before signing the bill. The push to make Juneteenth a federal holiday came last year; after the murder of George Floyd, which sparked nationwide protests and conversations at work and home on racial disparities in the country.
The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act commemorates the end of slavery in the US as a federal holiday. Juneteenth, also referred to as Black Independence Day, is the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr Day was created back in 1983. It celebrates the end of slavery and commemorates 19 June 1965 when enslaved African Americans were informed that the Civil War had ended and they were free. This was despite the fact that President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier, setting free enslaved African Americans.
As 19 June falls on Saturday this year, most federal employees will observe the holiday on Friday 18 June, according to the US Office of Personnel Management. Although the holiday will be observed by around two million federal government staff, exactly which states and employers will adopt the holiday remains to be seen; according to most US media sources. You can watch the signing event live-streamed in the video below.
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