Joe Biden establishes public holiday to mark the end of slavery

Published on : 06/18/2021 – 09:48

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday, June 17, promulgated a law creating a new federal holiday, the “Juneteenth“, to commemorate the emancipation of the last slaves in Texas 156 years ago, on June 19, 1865.

“Juneteenth symbolizes both the long and difficult night of slavery and submission, and the promise of a better day,” he said during the ceremony at the White House, alongside his vice -President Kamala Harris, of Indian and Jamaican descent. Slavery, officially abolished in December 1865, is a “moral stain” and “America’s original sin,” the Democratic president recalled.

By making June 19 a holiday, “all Americans can feel the power of this day and learn from our history, celebrate progress and see the distance traveled.” But, he stressed, the emancipation of black American slaves was “only the beginning” of efforts to “keep the promise of racial equality.” “We must continue towards this promise because we are not there yet”, assured Joe Biden, while the black minority (13% of the population) still suffers from discrimination in terms of employment, housing or health .

In a rare moment of political unity, the Senate had unanimously approved on Tuesday the text of the law consecrating the “National Independence Day of Juneteenth”, contraction of “June” and “19” in English, then the House representatives had adopted it by an overwhelming majority, only 14 elected Republicans voting against.

This national day marks the date of June 19, 1865, when the Union army, victorious in the Civil War (1861-1865), announced to the slaves of the Texas town of Galveston that they were free men, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation signed by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. Slavery was officially abolished in December 1865, with the adoption of the 13^e amendment of the Constitution.

This holiday is reserved for federal government employees deemed non-essential, but the “Juneteenth” is already a holiday in most US states. The day is usually celebrated with parades, concerts or neighborhood parties.

Several large companies like Twitter, Nike or Lyft made it a day off for their employees after the death of George Floyd, an African-American killed by a white policeman on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, whose murder sparked a historic wave of anger at racism.

With AFP