#Congress passes bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday

(Left to right) Rep. Danny Davis, Sen. Ed Markey, Steve Williams, president of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation and Sen. Tina Smith celebrate the passage of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act at the Capitol on June 16, 2021.

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Congress has passed a bill to make Juneteenth, or June 19, a federal holiday commemorating
the end of slavery in the US.

The House on Wednesday voted 415-14 in favor of the bill that is expected to be signed into law by President Joe Biden.

A day earlier, the Senate passed the bill unanimously.

Juneteenth marks the day the last enslaved African Americans in the nation learned they were free after the Civil War.

While confederate soldiers surrendered in April 1865, the last enslaved black people did not learn of the monumental development until June 19 when Union soldiers delivered the news of freedom to Galveston, Texas.

Juneneeth will become the 12th federal holiday, and the first new one since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established in 1983.

“Our federal holidays are purposely few in number and recognize the most important milestones,” said New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney.

“I cannot think of a more important milestone to commemorate than the end of slavery in the United States.”

With Post wires