Congress Approves Juneteenth To Become A Federal Holiday

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS — Congress has passed a bill to make Juneteenth, or June 19th, a federal holiday. Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. It will officially be known as Juneteenth National Independence Day.

The Senate passed a bill on Tuesday, June 15, that would make Juneteenth the 12th federal holiday. The bill based with a unanimous consent agreement to expedite the process. The bill then passed in the House, which passed it today. The bill is now in front of President Biden to sign into law.

Juneteenth observes when the last enslaved African Americans learned that they were free. The Confederates surrendered in April 1865, but word of the surrender didn't reach the last enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas until June 19. That was already more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, which officially freed slaves in Southern states.

Juneteenth is already a paid holiday for state employees in several states, including Texas, New York, Virginia and Washington.

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