Juneteenth . . . President Joe Biden signed the bill (Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 117–17 (text) (PDF))^[128][129] on June 17, 2021, making Juneteenth the eleventh American federal holiday..^{[130][91][92]}

Juneteenth . . . “Marks our country’s second independence day. Although it has long celebrated in the African American community, this monumental event remains largely unknown to most Americans. . . But not everyone in Confederate territory would immediately be free. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control.

As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later.

Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree.

This day came to be known as “Juneteenth,” by the newly freed people in Texas. ”

According to the bill, federal government employees will now get to take the day off every year on June 19, or should the date fall on a Saturday or Sunday, they will get the Friday or Monday closest to the Saturday or Sunday on which the date falls.^[131]

Click here to learn more about Juneteenth from the National Museum of African American History & Culture.

Source: https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/historical-legacy-juneteenth;  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth#:~:text=President%20Joe%20Biden%20signed%20the%20bill%20(%20Pub.,Day%20was%20designated%20in%201983.