The House voted 415-14 to make June 19, or Juneteenth, a national holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S., the first new federal holiday created by Congress in nearly four decades.
President Biden will sign the bill into law this afternoon.
Of course, Juneteenth is a day the Carver community has long celebrated.
Publishers throughout the North responded to a demand for copies of Lincoln’s proclamation and produced numerous decorative versions, including this engraving by R. A. Dimmick in 1864. National Museum of American History, gift of Ralph E. Becker
Here is a list of 10 Juneteenth celebrations in Connecticut this weekend.
The law will give the day the same status as Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and other federal holidays.
Juneteenth would be the first federal holiday to be created by Congress since 1983, when lawmakers designated the third Monday in January as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, in honor of the slain civil-rights leader.
Juneteenth—also known as Emancipation Day, Black Independence Day and Jubilee Day—marks the 1865 date when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived with federal troops in Galveston, Texas, and issued an order freeing the nation’s last slaves. The ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in December 1865 abolished slavery throughout the entire country.
The June 19 holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S. is already celebrated as a state or ceremonial holiday in 47 states (including Connecticut) and the District of Columbia. When Biden signs the bill, June 19 will become the country's 11th federal holiday.