On Thursday, President Joe Biden signed Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law, after it passed the House on Wednesday with a vote of 415-14 and passed the Senate on Tuesday through unanimous consent.
The law makes Juneteenth, which is already recognized in most other states, a federal holiday. On June 19, 1865, slaves in the Confederacy learned of their freedom over two and a half years after he signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The order came from Galveston, Texas.
In a show of bipartisanship, two of the bill's biggest proponents were Texans, Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, and Republican Sen. John Cornyn. Both were handed pens by President Biden in the signing ceremony.
It's finally time to recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday. I reintroduced this bipartisan bill with @SenMarkey and have been proud to work alongside my fellow Texan @JacksonLeeTX18 in the House to get this bill passed.
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) June 17, 2021
Getting the first pen. Overwhelmed. For all those we lost through the history of Slavery! #Juneteenth pic.twitter.com/kNIohhMCxV
— Sheila Jackson Lee (@JacksonLeeTX18) June 17, 2021
With Opal Lee and @potus after signing the historic Juneteenth Federal Holiday legislation! pic.twitter.com/nhquaWkgcW
— Sheila Jackson Lee (@JacksonLeeTX18) June 17, 2021
Proud that Juneteenth is now a National Federal Holiday! #Juneteenth pic.twitter.com/oUD1RP58bS
— Sheila Jackson Lee (@JacksonLeeTX18) June 17, 2021
Both the senator and congresswoman shared their appreciation for 94-year old Opal Lee, dubbed the grandmother of Juneteenth, who has made it her lifelong mission to see the day turned into a federal holiday. Lee was presented at the signing ceremony, and thanked by President Biden in his remarks, who also shared he had met with her last year in Nevada.
While Lee wasn't always sure that she would see the day come in her lifetime, she nevertheless kept her faith and has credited God. "I need to be on my knees praying because the Lord has been so good to me. You can’t do these things without his help," she told local CBS DFW.
As this year's Juneteenth is on a Saturday, federal workers will have the day off tomorrow, on June 18.
Today, I had the honor of signing a bill to officially make Juneteenth a federal holiday. With this important step, all Americans can feel the power of the day, learn from our history, celebrate our progress, and grapple with the distance we still have to travel. pic.twitter.com/UN5WgCiAy2
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 17, 2021
We cannot rest until the promise of equality is fulfilled — for every one of us, in every corner of this nation.
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 17, 2021
That is the meaning of Juneteenth.
During his remarks at the signing ceremony, while the president did mention the bipartisan nature of the bill, but nevertheless took the opportunity to advocate for other legislative priorities of his, primarily election reform legislation and vaccine distribution:
To honor the true meaning of Juneteenth, we have to continue toward that promise because we’ve not gotten there yet. The Vice President and I and our entire administration and all of you in this room are committed to doing just that.
...
Folks, the promise of equality is not going to be fulfilled until we become real — it becomes real in our schools and on our Main Streets and in our neighborhoods — our healthcare system and ensuring that equity is at the heart of our fight against the pandemic; in the water that comes out of our faucets and the air that we breathe in our communities; in our justice system — so that we can fulfill the promise of America for all people. All of our people.
And it’s not going to be fulfilled so long as the sacred right to vote remains under attack.
We see this assault from restrictive laws, threats of intimidation, voter purges, and more — an assault that offends the very democracy — our very democracy.
We can’t rest until the promise of equality is fulfilled for every one of us in every corner of this nation. That, to me, is the meaning of Juneteenth. That’s what it’s about.
So let’s make this June- — this very Juneteenth, tomorrow — the first that our nation will celebrate all together, as one nation — a Juneteenth of action on many fronts.
One of those is vaccinations. Tomorrow, the Vice President will be in Atlanta on a bus tour, helping to spread the word, like all of you have been doing, on lifesaving vaccines.
And across the country this weekend, including here in Washington, people will be canvassing and hosting events in their communities, going door-to-door, encouraging vaccinations.
We’ve built equity into the heart of the vaccination program from day one, but we still have more work to do to close the racial gap in vaccination rates. The more we can do that, the more we can save lives....
And that’s why we must understand that Juneteenth represents not only the commemoration of the end of slavery in America more than 150 years ago, but the ongoing work to have to bring true equity and racial justice into American society, which we can do.
In short, this day doesn’t just celebrate the past; it calls for action today.
Biden also referred to Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) as "John."
America is the greatest nation earth, but we are not perfect. We strive to be a more perfect union. Now that President Biden has signed this into law, #Juneteenth is officially a national holiday. https://t.co/0HfJLh9oVi
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) June 17, 2021
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