Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey Issues Juneteenth Day Proclamation

ACROSS ALABAMA — Gov. Kay Ivey has proclaimed June 19, 2021 as Juneteenth Day in Alabama.

The governor signed the proclamation Thursday to recognize the date's significance in history as well as to promote healing and unity in the state.

On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, setting in motion what would help end slavery in the United States. It took two years after its signing and the end of the Civil War for it to be fully enforced.

On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers led by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, arrived in Galveston, TX to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Lincoln stating that slaves had been freed.

As time passed, the date ultimately became known as "Juneteenth," the oldest known public celebration commemorating the anniversary of the end of slavery in the United States.

Alabama became the 40th state to recognize Juneteenth through the passage of legislation in 2012 by Hank Sanders, a former Democratic member of the Alabama Senate.

To read the proclamation, click here.