Juneteenth IS Now a Federal Holiday

The Senate has unanimously passed a bill to establish Juneteenth as a federal holiday.  Juneteenth, or June 19th, marks the true end of slavery in the United States, nearly two years after Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.  President Biden has signed off on a bill making Juneteenth a national holiday.  The bill establishes June 19th as ‘Juneteenth National Independence Day”, commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S. Biden called signing the bill “one of the greatest honors I will have as president”.  It’s the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established in 1983.   Since June 19th falls on a Saturday this year, most federal employees will get this Friday off.  How should Juneteenth be commemorated?  What kind of new traditions would you like to see?

WATCH: The Senate unanimously passes a bill establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday. The bill now heads to the House. https://t.co/d4QlSgRK0L pic.twitter.com/coJO0k881P

— ABC News (@ABC) June 15, 2021