The United States created a national holiday to reflect on slavery

The president of the United States, Joe biden, on Thursday signed a law that declares June 19 known as “June”, as the new national holiday to think back to the date of 1865 when the last black slaves knew they were free.

“It’s a day of deep weight and deep power, a day when we remember the moral taint and the terrible price slavery cost the country and continues to cost. What I have long called America’s original sin “Biden said in a speech at the White House.

In front of dozens of activists and lawmakers, the president stressed the historic importance of the declaration as a national holiday of “juinteenth», A pun with the month of June and the pronunciation of 19 in English and that it was already a date of celebration for the African-American community.

“Great nations are not ignoring their most painful moments, they are not ignoring those moments of the past. They welcome you with open arms, Great nations don’t run away, they understand the mistakes they made. And as we remembered those times, we started to heal and get stronger, ”Biden said.

Slaves who didn’t know they were free

Before Biden, the US Vice President spoke, Kamala harris, the first African-American person to hold the position and who was responsible for telling the story behind the new vacation.

June, he explained, it commemorates the date on which more than 250,000 black slaves first learned that they were free.

Concretely, what happened is that the general of the Union Gordon granger entered the port of Galveston (Texas) to announce the defeat of the Confederacy in the Civil War two months before and for proclaim that “all slaves” were free.

Until there, slaves did not know they had been freed because Texas slave owners refused to accept the order given two years earlier by then President Abraham Lincoln to abolish slavery .

“For two years, the people of Texas remained in slavery. For more than two years, his freedom was deliberately restricted. For two years ! Harris said.

However, as the Vice President recalled, Despite Granger’s intervention, some southern states continued to have slaves for another six months until the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in December 1865 to formally prohibit this inhuman practice.

Almost full support from both parties

The approval of “June” as a public holiday comes at a time when the United States tries to reflect on its turbulent history and in the wake of the anti-racist protests that followed the death of African-American George Floyd last year, suffocated by a white cop.

Of 50 US states, 48 ​​have already recognized this holiday, but Floyd’s protests have served to unite some Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

Despite the agreement between politicians of very different ideologies, The biggest obstacle so far had been Republican Senator Ron Johnson, who argued that creating a new federal holiday would cost state coffers $ 600 million annually because 2 million civil servants should be paid per payday.

This week, however, Johnson announced by surprise that he would no longer oppose the law, which paved the way for its adoption.

Both parties approved it by unanimously in the Senate on Tuesday and, a day later, the House of Representatives approved the initiative with just 14 Republican lawmakers voting against.

One of them, Matt Rosendale of Montana, said the measure is an effort “by the left” to “hurt Americans and convince them that the homeland is the devil.”

Other Republicans have opposed the holiday because it will be called “National Independence Day juinteenth” and consider that this name seeks to conflict with U.S. Independence Day, celebrated every July 4.

Despite the reluctance of the Republicans, The debate was much easier than when Congress created the 1983 holiday to commemorate the birth of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., which is celebrated on the third Monday in January each year. On this occasion, the debate in Congress lasted 15 years.

With the approval of “June” as a public holiday, the United States already has 12 public holidays. These dates, however, they are only compulsory in the public sector. This year, since June 19 falls on a Saturday, federal employees will have their leave tomorrow Friday.

By Beatriz Pascual Macías (EFE)

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