The new law celebrates Juneteenth, a day which commemorates the end to slavery and celebrates Black and African American freedom and achievements, while encouraging continuous self-development and respect for all cultures. Juneteenth (a portmanteau of June and nineteenth) – also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, and Emancipation Day – is a holiday celebrating the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States. Michelle Gordon, a senior lecturer at Emory University, believes if Juneteenth became a holiday it could be one of the most American of all holidays. He had planned a political rally for June 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a city where a white mob burned a thriving Black community to the ground 99 years ago this month. Juneteenth’s status as an unofficial national holiday can unfortunately lend itself to pandering. It is the oldest-known celebration of black freedom from slavery. ALVEDA KING: AS RIOTS SPREAD ACROSS US, HEED WORDS OF MY UNCLE MARTIN LUTHER KING TO END VIOLENCE AND RACISM. Earlier in the year, the national holiday took a back burner to more pragmatic measures meant to expand opportunities for minorities. Amid nationwide demonstrations against police brutality, Rooks expects 2020’s celebration of Juneteenth will be marked by more protests and a renewed focus on the work that still needs to be done to advance black rights. An African American band at an Emancipation Day celebration in Austin in 1900. “This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.”. He believes it’s important that America doesn’t carry these unfortunate incidents forward. ©2020 FOX News Network, LLC. But Professor Noliwe Rooks, PhD, director of American studies and professor of Africana studies at Cornell University, said the delayed end to slavery was fueled by nothing but greed. Emancipation Day celebration held on June 19, 1900, in Austin, The Juneteenth parade in Philadelphia, 2019, Dorinda Medley's daughter Hannah raises concerns over 'thigh gap' video, 24-year-old woman dead after dropping iPhone into bathwater, Carrie Ann Inaba tests positive for COVID-19, Taylor Swift donates $13K to two moms facing eviction due to COVID-19, Grammys apologize to Tiffany Haddish for cheap offer, ‘The View’ Destroys “Entitled Brat” Olivia Jade After ‘Red Table Talk’ Interview, © 2020 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, according to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, renewed focus to the plight of black Americans, Biden said 'defund the police' hurt Dem candidates in election, Michigan pol stripped of committee seats for threatening Trump supporters, Giuliani released from hospital after bout with COVID, Seventeen states, Trump join Texas SCOTUS suit to toss Biden electors, Google to lift post-election political advertisement ban, Home Chef’s holiday meal kits are all you need for the perfect family dinner, Cole Haan discounts boots to under $100 for limited-time sale, These last-minute Nordstrom Rack gifts are perfect for everyone on your list, At-home COVID-19 testing is now available for under $125, 15 amazing IT Cosmetics gifts you can buy at Ulta, Football coach Tony Dungy would love to coach this basketball star, Best Buy announced employees will be offered a “paid volunteer day” for Juneteenth 2020 and in 2021, it will become a “formal, paid company holiday.”. It is commemorated on the anniversary date of the June 19, 1865 announcement by Union Army general Gordon Granger, proclaiming freedom fr… Juneteenth takes place on June 19th and is also referred to as Freedom or Liberation Day. Source / Fox News. Terms of Use The US Senate passed a resolution last year recognizing "Juneteenth Independence Day" as a national holiday, but it has not yet been approved in the House. Since Juneteenth is not a national holiday, many leaders and companies across the United States recently announced they would celebrate June 19 as a paid company holiday. Juneteenth is one of America’s oldest holidays and is observed each year on June 19 to mark the official end of slavery in the US. That’s part of the problem Gay wants to solve by proclaiming Juneteenth a national holiday. 2. “This year we are in a race war in America, and when you’re in war you don’t really celebrate, you activate. You might also know it as Freedom Day or Jubilee Day. Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today signed into law legislation (S.8598/A.10628) designating Juneteenth as an official public holiday in New York State. “In the US at least, there’s a real grappling with what it meant and it what it continues to mean that so much of the economy in the US during a particular period of time was based on the enslavement of human beings and not acknowledging the humanity and calling us property that allowed slavery to flourish,” Rooks explained. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. It’s not a funeral, so people have cookouts and those kinds of things,” Rooks said. The fight over a national Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday — which would first be celebrated in 1986 — was underway, and some felt that Juneteenth was also a crucial part of the story. Thanks to the efforts of State Representative Al Edwards — known as “Mr. “It’s a celebration, it’s not solemn, it’s filled with joy and pageantry. On that date in 1865, news of Robert E. Lee’s surrender in Virginia in April finally reached Galveston, Texas. Gov. This week, Virginia Gov. Texas became the first state to recognize the holiday … The drumbeat to declare Juneteenth a national holiday is getting louder. But should Juneteenth be made a national holiday? The new law celebrates Juneteenth, a day which commemorates the end to slavery and celebrates Black and African American freedom and achievements, while encouraging continuous self-development and respect for all cultures. Making it a national holiday is quite another. This year it’s time for us to learn to live together as brothers and sisters,” King said. Juneteenth is not a federal holiday, but 46 states and the District of Columbia recognize it as a state or ceremonial holiday. Cuomo, speaking during his daily press briefing in Albany, said... Post was not sent - check your email addresses! If you want to join the fight you can show your solidarity with the activists by signing the online petition HERE . Late last year, Lee launched the "Make Juneteenth a National Holiday in 2020" petition on the Change.org online platform. Originating in Galveston, Texas, it is now celebrated annually on the 19th of June throughout the United States, with varying official recognition. Another petition , started last … He later canceled the event amid heavy criticism. Jayla Whitfield joined Fox News in 2019 as a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta, Georgia. 46,003, This story has been shared 45,448 times. Juneteenth” — Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth a state holiday in 1980 . A two-page document the Trump campaign shared with McClatchy DC listed efforts on criminal justice reform and health care, as well as the commitment to make Juneteenth a national holiday. General Motors plans to hold an 8-minute, 46-second-long moment of silence in honor of Floyd, who was killed at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, and Liberation Day is a holiday celebrating the liberation of African Americans. “The idea that people in that part of Texas had no idea that the war was over is farcical, quite frankly,” Rooks told The Post, chuckling at the thought. This is a running list of the companies promising to recognize Juneteenth, according to NBC: In the late 1860s and early 1870s, Juneteenth celebrations made their way through Texas and into neighboring states, according to the Congressional Research Service’s latest Juneteenth fact sheet. The Emancipation Proclamation, meant to free all enslaved people in states that had seceded from the Union, was put into place on January 1, 1863. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Do Not Sell My Personal Information, Your California Privacy Rights Nearly all states recognize Juneteenth with some limited special status, but there have been calls over the years to make it a national holiday, Robinson, the Juneteenth.com founder, said. Originally a Texas state holiday, it is now celebrated annually on the 19th of June throughout the United States, with varying official recognition. A Juneteenth national holiday would help American citizens view the Civil War and emancipation from the perspective of those most affected by its outcome—black people. Juneteenth is not a national holiday, but most states have officially recognized the day as such. The day, which gets its name from combining June and 19, has long been celebrated by black Americans as a symbol of their long-awaited emancipation — but the story behind the holiday, and how Juneteenth got its meaning, starts 155 years ago Friday in Galveston, Texas. WASHINGTON — Senators on Friday announced legislation to make Juneteenth, a widely observed holiday that marks the federal order to free slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865, a national holiday. The speech was to take place near the site of a 1921 race massacre, and June 19 is celebrated each year as Juneteenth, in honor of the day in 1865 when enslaved men and women in … Juneteenth” — Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth a state holiday in 1980 . “It … In June, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that Juneteenth would be an official city and school holiday next year. And it should be a national holiday. Professor Rucker agrees. And she’s calling on someone else who recently won it big. Juneteenth National Holiday. Ralph Northam announced plans to give every executive branch employee a paid day off Friday and said he will work with the legislature to pass a law making Juneteenth a permanent state holiday later this year, Al Jazeera reported. 3. 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