Juneteenth Is a Federal Holiday, yet in Most States It's Still Not a Day Off
One year after President Biden made Juneteenth a government occasion, 26 states have not approved the financing that would consider state representatives to go home for the day.
One year after President Biden made Juneteenth a government occasion, 26 states have not approved the financing that would consider state representatives to go home for the day.
One year later, only 24 states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation or issued executive orders that would provide funding to let state employees observe the day as a paid state holiday,
“This is something that Black folk deserve and it was like we had to almost prove ourselves to get them to agree,” said Anthony Nolan, a state representative in Connecticut,
Juneteenth commemorates the events of June 19, 1865, when Gordon Granger, a Union general, arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform enslaved African Americans of their freedom after the Civil War had ended.
In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, said state employees should have the day off and set aside more than $690,000 in the annual budget to cover the overtime costs
The bill came out of committee but was taken off the legislative calendar later that month.
The holiday is also called “Juneteenth Independence Day,” “Freedom Day” or “Emancipation Day.”
Texas became the first state in the country to make Juneteenth a paid day off in 1980. Mr. Biden signed the holiday into federal law on June 17, 2021.