Senate Approves Making ‘Juneteenth’ A Federal Holiday

The Senate approved a bill Tuesday that would make “Juneteenth,” the day celebrating the emancipation of slaves, a federal holiday.

The upper chamber unanimously passed the bill and now a similar bill will be voted on in the House, The Hill reported.

“The freedom of all Americans that Texas celebrates every Juneteenth should be celebrated all across the nation,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the lead GOP sponsor, said in a statement. “The passage of this bill represents a big step in our nation’s journey toward equality.  I thank my colleagues in the Senate for their support, and my fellow Texans who have been celebrating this important holiday for more than a century.”

Juneteenth as the commemorative date became known, is the date that marks the true end of slavery in the United States.

According to Britanica.com, although the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, news of it did not reach Texas until more than two years later when union troops entered Galveston on June 19, 1865, and informed the residents that slavery was abolished.

Read more at NEWSMAX. 

{Matzav.com}