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President Biden on Thursday signed into law legislation making Juneteenth, or June 19, the 12th federal holiday.

The June 19 holiday commemorates the day in 1865 that Union troops began enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862 in Galveston, Texas.

It’s the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created in 1983.

“I regret that my grandchildren are here because this is a really, really, really important moment in our history,” Biden said at the bill signing at the White House.

“By making Juneteenth a federal holiday, all Americans can feel the power of this day and learn from our history to celebrate progress and grapple with the distance we’ve come, but [also] the distance we haven’t traveled yet.”

Biden said, “I’m especially pleased that we showed the nation that we can come together as Democrats and Republicans to commemorate this day with overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress. I hope this is the beginning of a change in the way we deal with one.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking before Biden, said to applause that “throughout history, Juneteenth has been known by many names: Jubilee Day, Freedom Day, Liberation Day, Emancipation Day and today, a national holiday.”

“National holidays are something important. These are days when we as a nation have decided to stop and take stock and often to acknowledge our history,” Harris said.
Harris noted that Juneteenth didn’t mark the actual end of slavery, which was eliminated in border states and New Jersey in December 1865 through the 13th Amendment.

“Let us also remember that day was not the end of slavery in America,” she said. “The truth is, it would be six more months before the 13th Amendment was ratified. Before enslaved people in the South in the North for free.”

The House voted 415-14 on Wednesday to send the bill to Biden.

The US Office of Personnel Management, which is the human resources office for the federal government, tweeted Thursday that most federal employees will observe the new holiday — Juneteenth National Independence Day — on Friday since June 19 falls on a Saturday this year.

— with Post wires

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