People carry posters of civil rights activist Rosa Parks, top left, and scholar Omar Ibn Said, top right, while marching in a parade, June 19, 2023, in Boston, held to commemorate Juneteenth. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
On June 19, thousands across the country celebrated Juneteenth, which was made a federal holiday in 2021.
Juneteenth National Independence Day marks the day more than two years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation when Black slaves in Galveston, Texas, were informed of their freedom.
This year, more than half of states recognized Juneteenth as an official public holiday, according to Pew Research Center.
At least 28 states and the District of Columbia were slated to legally recognize Juneteenth in 2023 as a public holiday, with state government offices closed and state workers having a paid day off. Beginning this year, Connecticut, Minnesota, Nevada, and Tennessee made Juneteenth a public holiday at the state level.
Just for 2023, a governor’s proclamation in Alabama and West Virginia made Juneteenth a temporary state holiday; the holiday can become permanent if the legislatures in these states pass bills to make it so.
State workers in California were allowed to take Juneteenth off in lieu of a personal holiday. In Pennsylvania, Juneteenth is now designated as an “official annual observance” and a paid day off for state employees. Meanwhile, in North Carolina, some state workers can opt to take Juneteenth as a floating holiday on a day of “cultural, religious or personal significance.”
In Texas, where the holiday originated, Juneteenth–known as Emancipation Day in the state–has been celebrated locally in Texas since the 1860s. It became an official state holiday there in 1980.
Juneteenth has actually been observed by communities nationwide for more than 150 years, from family gatherings to rodeos to parades, CBS News reported.
According to the Galveston Historical Foundation, the earliest documented Juneteenth celebration took place in Galveston, Texas, in 1866.
While most of the Juneteenth celebrations nationwide were peaceful, there was a mass shooting during the Willowbrook Juneteenth celebration on June 17 in southwestern Chicago. According to the DuPage County Coroner’s office, a 31-year-old man named Reginald Meadows died of a fatal gunshot wound to the abdomen following a shooting that injured 22 others.
Multiple weapons were fired during the incident, with an unknown number of suspects shooting into the crowd, police said. No one was in custody as of late June 18, NBC Chicago reported.
In Milwaukee, six teens were shot after a Juneteenth celebration on June 19. Four females and two males between the ages of 14 and 19 years old were injured by gunfire, Police Chief Jeffrey B. Norman said during a news conference, CNN reported. The injuries were not life-threatening, he added.
People carry posters of civil rights activist Rosa Parks, top left, and scholar Omar Ibn Said, top right, while marching in a parade, June 19, 2023, in Boston, held to commemorate Juneteenth. Americans across the country are observing the relatively new Juneteenth federal holiday with festivals, parades, cookouts and other gatherings. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
