National Holiday declared on Juneteenth, US President Joe Biden passed the law; Know what is the history of this day

US President Joe Biden on Thursday passed a law establishing June 19, ie Juneteenth, as a national holiday. This year it is falling on Saturday so government employees will be on holiday on Friday. There was a demand for bringing this bill for a long time. Following the Black Lives Matter protests after the murder of black George Floyd, the demand for this law started increasing further.

Earlier, the House passed the bill by a vote of 415-14 after the Senate passed the legislation unanimously. According to The Hill, Joe Biden said at a signing ceremony at the White House, "Great nations don't ignore their most painful moments...they embrace them." Great nations do not run away but admit their mistakes. Remembering those moments, we start to heal and become stronger.'

He continued, 'The truth is, that's not enough to celebrate Juneteenth. The emancipation of hitherto enslaved Black Americans did not mark the end of America's work to fulfill the promise of equality, it is only the beginning. To honor the true meaning of Juneteenth, we must keep that promise because we are not there yet.'

On June 19, 1865, two months after the end of the Civil War, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, on behalf of the victorious Union, and issued orders to free the last enslaved people on American soil.

It is known that earlier 'Juneteenth' was officially celebrated in many US states and the District of Columbia, but despite years of lobbying by civil rights organizations, June 19 could not become a national holiday.

America's oldest Juneteenth festival marks the end of more than two decades of slavery in the country. It started on 19 June 1866. It has been given this name by combining the date 19th and the month of June. Slavery in America ended on this date. It is known as Liberation Day and Independence Day. Former President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. He had formally freed all the slaves two years earlier.

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