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The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, which establishes a public holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States, was signed and enacted by President Joe Biden.
Although Juneteenth has been commemorated in one way or another every June 19 since 1866 – depending on each state – it will now be a federal holiday, implying that nationally, all employees of federal institutions will have paid days off.
Although not mandatory, it is implicitly expected that other institutions such as banks, businesses, schools will close and grant their employees the corresponding holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Years.
“I have only been president for a few months, but I think it will be remembered, at least for me, as one of the greatest honors he has had as president,” Biden said at the meeting. ‘event during which he signed the minutes.
But it was a long road that has led to this moment, with American civil rights organizations, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which have long lobbied for make this date a national holiday.
Of particular importance is the approval of the date of the holiday, amid the historic wave of protests against racism sparked by the murder of George Floyd and the deaths of other African Americans at the hands of the police.
Previously there were gestures like that of the now former San Francisco 49ers American football player. Colin Kaepernick, who knelt during the national anthem to protest racism in the country and to support the Black Lives Matter movement.
What is the origin of Juneteenth?
The name comes from a combination of the English words “June” (June) and “nineteen” (nine) and is the date that marks the end of slavery in the United States, one of the most important events from the country.
Slavery lasted in the United States for two centuries.
It is also known as Emancipation Day and the Freedom day.
President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which officially freed all slaves, two years before that date, but it took some time for it to become a reality for all.
First, the Civil War had to end.
Texas was one of the Confederate States that they fought to maintain slavery and they fought against the States of the Union, which wanted to abolish it.
And Texas was the last state to surrender to the Union Army, and also the last where the Enslaved African Americans they found out they were free.
When the general of the Union Gordon granger The document was read in Galveston City, Texas, the war was over, and Lincoln was assassinated by a Confederate sympathizer in a theater.
How did it become a federal law?
At the state or ceremonial level, 49 of the 50 states in the Union, as well as Washington DC, officially recognize Juneteenth as a holiday. South Dakota is the only one left to adopt.
President Joe Biden signed the minutes this Wednesday, June 17, at the White House.
When former President Barack Obama was a senator from Illinois, he introduced the bill to make the date a national holiday with others, but the legislation was never passed even though he was president. .
This action, large companies like Nike, Uber, Twitter and many more have announced that they will offer their employees Juneteenth for free with payment.
Governors of some states, including New York and Virginia, have also declared the holiday to state employees.
On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives supported the legislation by 415 votes to 14, a day after it was unanimously approved by the Senate. With President Biden’s signature, the law was enacted.
The 14 representatives who voted against were all Republicans. One of the Montana lawmakers said the law was about “identity politics.” Another Kentuky opponent argued that the law “creates confusion and forces Americans to choose one of two dates as their independence day based on their racial identity.”
This is the first federal holiday to be created since Martin Luther King Jr. (the assassinated leader of the civil rights movement) was established in 1983.
The efforts to have Juneteenth declared a national holiday have gone on for decades.
In 2016, Opal Lee, an 89-year-old woman, marched from Texas – where Juneteenth has been recognized as a public holiday since 1980 – to Washington DC in an effort to get lawmakers to support the measure at the federal level.
I walk 4 miles every day, totaling two and a half years – the time it took for slaves in Texas to know they had been freed.
Opal Lee (center and in white) – with Vice President Kamala Harris – when signing the minutes, said the commemoration of the date “has to do with (all) America”.
“I have so many different feelings bubbling up here,” Lee said after the approval vote in Congress. “I don’t know what to call them all. I’m so glad to hear that we already have a Juneteenth.
“It has nothing to do with Texas or black people. It has to do with (all of) the United States.”
What has gone differently this year to drive the measure?
The end of slavery did not eliminate racism and, in the following years, the so-called Jim Crow Laws to Separate Black Citizens from White Society and limit your civil rights.
The legacy of these laws is still being dismantled in the country.
Despite the advances made by the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s, with an increasing number of Afro-descendants in government positions, the black citizen still faces exclusion, discrimination and violence. with regard to women. authorities.
In 2016, the eminent American football player of the time Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem before games to protest racism and to support the Black Lives Matter movement.
This act sparked a wave of protests that led to a national debate in which then-President Donald Trump actively participated, harshly criticizing the player’s position and publicly clashing with players and other stars of the sport.
Kaepernick refused to sing the national anthem to protest police violence against African Americans in the country.
The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other African Americans At the hands of the police, they also sparked demonstrations against racism, organized by supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement.
During last year’s presidential campaign, Trump was forced to postpone a political rally that was originally scheduled precisely for June 19, after coming under fire amid anti-racist protests across the country.
On the flip side, several Democrats argue that recent electoral reforms enacted in Republican-led states make it more difficult for ethnic minorities who frequently sympathize with Democrats to vote.
The promulgation of Juneteenth also occurs when a heated debate around the history of slavery and how it should be tested in American schools.
Some Republican-controlled states have pushed for schools to teach Trump’s favorite “patriotic education” and limit or ban subjects that seek to reassess the importance of slavery to the founding of the nation.
Has the US government ever apologized for slavery?
The Democratic President Bill clinton He apologized for the slave trade during a trip to Africa in 1998.
Ten years later, the US House of Representatives issued an apology that also included decades of segregation laws against African Americans.
Bill Clinton apologized for the slave trade during a trip to Africa in 1998.
The following year, the United States Senate performed a similar act.
However, for many groups in the country, these apologies are not enough.
In the United States, various groups claim compensation for descendants of slaves, but the question deeply divides the country.
In a poll taken last year, 74% of African Americans supported the measure, while 85% of whites opposed it.
Cmo se Celebra Juneteenth?
Juneteenth is commemorated in various parts of the United States with different events including parades.
Juneteenth traditions and celebrations vary across the United States. Parades are held in some states, with people flocking to eat, watch and play sports.
Likewise, there is public readings, recitals and songs, picnics and religious services. In other states, rodeos and competitions are held.
Food plays an important role, with roasts being one of the most popular ways to spend the day with family and friends.
Today’s signature dish is “Marcus Garvey Salad”, named after a black activist and made from red, green and black beans.
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