President Joe Biden signed a bill that makes Juneteenth a federal holiday, with plans for the government workforce to observe the new holiday on Friday.
The event was carried on cable news and broadcast networks.
The holiday commemorates African Americans’ freedom from slavery, and has long been observed in local and state celebrations. It was on June 19, 1865 that enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas, learned that they were free, and their first celebration turned into an annual event.
“Today we consecrate Juneteenth for what it ought to be, what it must be, a national holiday,” Biden said in the East Room of the White House.
At the ceremony, Biden called for passage of voting rights legislation, expected to come before the Senate next week, and also highlighted other parts of his agenda. As he has many times before, he also urged Americans to get vaccinated.
Joining Biden at the ceremony was Opal Lee, 94, the activist who is known as the “grandmother of the movement to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.”
He described how, on Juneteenth 1939, when Lee was 12 years old, a white mob torched her family home.
“Such hate never stopped her,” Biden said. “…Over the course of decades she has made it her mission to see that this day came.”
Also with Biden as he signed the legislation were a handful of Senate and House lawmakers, including a Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, who co-sponsored the legislation establishing the date as a federal holiday. Juneteenth will be the first new federal holiday created since 1983, when Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established.
Juneteenth actually lands on Saturday this year, but the U.S. Office of Personnel Management announced that the holiday would be observed with paid time off for most federal workers on Friday. California recognizes Juneteenth, but it is not a state holiday for employees.
Industry business will slow in observance as well. Hollywood’s major talent agencies, including CAA, ICM Partners, UTA and WME Entertainment all will be closed on Friday.
The markets, including the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, will be open but the exchanges are expected to meet to determine whether to close in future years. Some banks will close early.
Earlier this week, the Senate passed legislation unanimously to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, and the House voted 415-14 on Wednesday, sending the bill to Biden’s desk.
More to come.