After 9 years of Catholic education and 3 years in public high school, I do not remember any mention of Juneteenth in any of my classes. I was well into my college experience before the importance of this day became clear to me. It took many more years of educating myself to understand the significance.
To put it simply, June 19th (known as Juneteenth) is the day slaves in Galveston, Texas, became aware that they were now free in 1866. It is recognized as the day slavery ended in all of America.
June 19th has been recognized as a special day in most states. For years, activists have pushed to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. After laying all that groundwork, just a few days ago the Senate unanimously passed the measure creating June 19th as a federal holiday, with most federal workers getting the day off. The House passed the bill shortly after the Senate action with only a handful of no votes.
Most experienced Washington observers did not expect a day off for federal employees this year, with the bill reaching the president’s desk just before June 19th. But President Biden surprised everyone by quickly signing the legislation and declaring June 18, 2021, as the first Juneteenth federal holiday (with the 19th on a Saturday in 2021).
Ending slavery in America is a very good reason to declare a holiday. I had a professor in college refer to slavery as a “peculiar institution.” It is a stain on our national history.
Fishers Equity Awareness, a group of local students that describes itself as “an organization that strives to educate residents about the systematic oppression against black americans,” sponsored a Juneteenth celebration at the Nickel Plate Amphitheater, with music, commercial vendors and other booths, celebrating the Juneteenth holiday.
It is amazing that any legislation can be passed, in this day and age, unanimously by the Senate and overwhelmingly in the House. It’s all because a dedicated group of activists worked for years to lay the groundwork and get this done. It emphasizes one important fact – if you believe in something, never, ever give up.
