Juneteenth Day 2024: Is it Federal Holiday in USA? Check meaning, history, quotes
Juneteenth as a Federal Holiday
Texas was the first state to officially recognize Juneteenth as a holiday in 1979. Other states eventually decided to mark the day likewise, as reported by History.
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Congress enacted a resolution declaring Juneteenth as a federal holiday in June 2021. On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed this into law. In 2024, Juneteenth will be observed on Wednesday, June 19.
History of Juneteenth
General Gordon Granger, a Union commander, arrived at Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865. About two months after General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, Virginia, he arrived to inform enslaved African Americans that they were free and that the Civil War was over, as reported by the New York Times.
President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, over two and a half years earlier and this declaration put it into force.
There are other names for the day, including «Juneteenth Independence Day,» «Freedom Day,» and «Emancipation Day.»
Juneteenth Day Quotes
As per the reports of Juneteenth.com, family get-togethers and prayers were part of the early Juneteenth celebrations. With time, the festivities grew to include yearly vacations to Galveston for families of former slaves.
According to the Jesuit, the best quotes to share on the day are:
«If the cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. Because the goal of America is freedom, abused and scorned tho’ we
