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Juneteenth National Independence Day
Biden said: “I have to say to you, I’ve only been president for several months, but I think this will go down, for me, as one of the greatest honors I will have as president.”
President Joe Biden signed legislation into law on June 17, 2021, making June 19 a US federal holiday, Juneteenth National Independence Day.
Biden said: “I have to say to you, I’ve only been president for several months, but I think this will go down, for me, as one of the greatest honors I will have as president.”
“I regret that my grandchildren aren’t here because this is a really, really, really important moment in our history. By making Juneteenth a federal holiday, all Americans can feel the power of this day and learn from our history–and celebrate progress and grapple with the distance we’ve come (and) the distance we have to travel.”
Biden added: “Great nations don’t ignore their most painful moments. They embrace them. Great nations don’t walk away. We’ve come to terms with the mistakes we made and in remembering those moments, we begin to heal and grow stronger. ”
“We can’t rest until the promise of equality is fulfilled for every one of us in every corner of this nation. That to me is the meaning of Juneteenth.”
It’s the first federal holiday since MLK Jr. Day in 1983 and the eleventh federal holiday recognized by the US federal government.
Juneteenth falls on a Saturday in 2021 so most federal employees will observe on Friday, June 18th.
