Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) released the following statement on the House of Representative’s passage of S. 475, the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, which would designate Juneteenth National Independence Day, June 19, as a federal holiday. The House passed the bill by a vote of 415-14 and now it heads to President Biden for his signature.
“I’m pleased that Congress is establishing this federal holiday to reflect on America’s history of slavery and the fight to overcome the legacy of this insidious institution as well as the bigotry on which it was built. Though the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery nearly two and a half years earlier and the 13th Amendment had passed several months prior, news of this development did not reach many former Confederate territories until much later and only made it to Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. Since then, many communities across the country have celebrated ‘Juneteenth’ to mark the end of slavery in the United States,” said Congressman Bishop. “This federal holiday allows our country to come together to remember our painful history, rejoice in the progress we’ve made to overcome it, and reaffirm that the fight for equality requires our continued vigilance.”
Yesterday, the Senate unanimously passed S. 475 which was quickly taken up by the House and brought to the floor for a vote today.
Text of S. 475, the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, can be found here.
Original source can be found here.
