The US Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would make “Juneteenth,” or June 19, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the nation.
The bill would lead to “Juneteenth” becoming the 12th federal holiday. It is expected to easily pass the US House of Representatives, which would send it to US President Joe Biden for his signature.
“Juneteenth” commemorates when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free.
Confederate soldiers surrendered in April 1865, but word did not reach the last enslaved black people until June 19, when Union soldiers took the news of freedom to Galveston, Texas. That was also about two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves in southern states.
“Making ‘Juneteenth’ a federal holiday is a major step forward to recognize the wrongs of the past, but we must continue to work to ensure equal justice, and fulfill the promise of the Emancipation Proclamation and our Constitution,” US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
The US Senate passed the bill under a unanimous consent agreement that expedites the process for considering legislation. It takes just one senator’s objection to block such agreements.
US Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican, had objected in the previous Congress to a bill to celebrate “Juneteenth” as a federal holiday because of the cost and lack of debate.
Johnson said that he has supported resolutions recognizing the significance of June 19, but he was concerned the new holiday would give federal employees another day off at a cost of about US$600 million per year.
“While it still seems strange that having taxpayers provide federal employees paid time off is now required to celebrate the end of slavery, it is clear that there is no appetite in Congress to further discuss the matter. Therefore, I do not intend to object,” Johnson said in a statement before Tuesday’s vote.
The bill was sponsored by US Senator Edward Markey, a Democrat, and had 60 cosponsors.
“We have a long road towards racial justice in the United States and we cannot get there without acknowledging our nation’s original sin of slavery. It is long past time to make Juneteenth a federal holiday,” Markey wrote on Twitter on Monday.
The vast majority of states recognize June 19 as a holiday or have an official observance of the day, and most states hold celebrations. June 19 is a paid holiday for state employees in Texas, New York, Virginia and Washington.
Under the legislation, the federal holiday would be known as Juneteenth National Independence Day.
Two former Chilean ministers are among four candidates competing this weekend for the presidential nomination of the left ahead of November elections dominated by rising levels of violent crime. More than 15 million voters are eligible to choose today between former minister of labor Jeannette Jara, former minister of the interior Carolina Toha and two members of parliament, Gonzalo Winter and Jaime Mulet, to represent the left against a resurgent right. The primary is open to members of the parties within Chilean President Gabriel Boric’s ruling left-wing coalition and other voters who are not affiliated with specific parties. A recent poll by the
TENSIONS HIGH: For more than half a year, students have organized protests around the country, while the Serbian presaident said they are part of a foreign plot About 140,000 protesters rallied in Belgrade, the largest turnout over the past few months, as student-led demonstrations mount pressure on the populist government to call early elections. The rally was one of the largest in more than half a year student-led actions, which began in November last year after the roof of a train station collapsed in the northern city of Novi Sad, killing 16 people — a tragedy widely blamed on entrenched corruption. On Saturday, a sea of protesters filled Belgrade’s largest square and poured into several surrounding streets. The independent protest monitor Archive of Public Gatherings estimated the
Irish-language rap group Kneecap on Saturday gave an impassioned performance for tens of thousands of fans at the Glastonbury Festival despite criticism by British politicians and a terror charge for one of the trio. Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged under the UK’s Terrorism Act with supporting a proscribed organization for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London in November last year. The rapper, who was charged under the anglicized version of his name, Liam O’Hanna, is on unconditional bail before a further court hearing in August. “Glastonbury,
The Vatican Museums on Thursday unveiled the last and most important of the restored Raphael Rooms, the spectacularly frescoed reception rooms of the Apostolic Palace that in some ways rival the Sistine Chapel as the peak of high Renaissance artistry. A decade-long project to clean and restore the largest of the four Raphael Rooms uncovered a novel mural painting technique that Renaissance painter and architect Raphael began, but never completed. He used oil paint directly on the wall, and arranged a grid of nails embedded in the walls to hold in place the resin surface onto which he painted. Vatican Museums officials
RSS