In South Carolina, instead of working to approve Juneteenth as a holiday, Senate lawmakers unanimously advanced a bill that would allow state employees to choose any day they want to take off instead of the Confederate Memorial Day currently enshrined as a paid holiday in state law. 'I just think we're putting the cart before the horse making a holiday that people don't know about.'

Joey Hensley, who is white and voted against the proposal. 'I asked many people in my district over the last few days, well over 100 people, if they knew what Juneteenth was and only two of them knew,' said Republican Sen. Lee Day, Confederate Decoration Day and Nathan Bedford Forrest Day. Bill Lee quietly tucked enough funding - roughly $700,000 - to make Juneteenth a state paid holiday in his initial spending plan for the upcoming year.ĭespite the bill gaining traction in the state Senate, GOP legislative leaders maintained there wasn't enough support for the idea even as Tennessee law currently designates special observances for Robert E. Mark Gordon issued a statement last June saying he would work with lawmakers to make it a state holiday but no legislation was filed during the 2022 session. The state closes down for Confederate Memorial Days in April. Kay Ivey issued another a proclamation marking Juneteenth a state holiday earlier this week after state lawmakers refused to take action on a bill during their legislative session even after she voiced strong support for making it a permanent holiday back in 2021. Yet the move didn't result in an automatic adoption from most states. It was the first time the federal government had designated a new national holiday since approving Martin Luther King Jr. Last year, Congress and President Joe Biden moved swiftly to make Juneteenth a national holiday. Juneteenth commemorates when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, in 1865, two months after the Confederacy had surrendered in the Civil War and about 2 1/2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in Southern states.

'And if we delay this, it's a smack in the face to Black folks.' Anthony Nolan, who is Black, while arguing in favor of making Juneteenth a paid holiday in Connecticut on the House floor. It represents the ways in which freedom for Black people have been delayed,' said Democratic Rep. 'Juneteenth marks the date of major significance in American history. That trend infuriates Black leaders and community organizers who view making Juneteenth a paid holiday the bare minimum state officials can do to help honor an often overlooked and ignored piece of American history. Lawmakers in Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and other states failed to advance proposals this year that would have closed state offices and given most of their public employees paid time off for the June 19 holiday.

But after an initial burst of action, the movement to have it recognized as an official holiday in the states has largely stalled.Īlthough almost every state recognizes Juneteenth in some fashion, many have been slow to do more than issue a proclamation or resolution, even as some continue to commemorate the Confederacy. City officials have also refused to release more details, reasoning that it would interfere with the ongoing investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety, Uvalde County's district attorney and the FBI.Recognition of Juneteenth, the effective end of slavery in the U.S., gained traction after the police killing of George Floyd in 2020. The city and its police department are arguing against the release of the requested records, citing the following reasons: the city is being sued, some individuals' criminal history records could include 'highly embarrassing information' some of the information could reveal police 'methods, techniques, and strategies for preventing and predicting crime,' could cause 'emotional/mental distress,' 'is not of legitimate concern to the public,' could subject city employees or officers to 'a substantial threat of physical harm,' and violates individuals' common-law right to privacy. National A legal loophole may block access to Texas shooting recordsĪmong the 148 public records requests Trevino said the city has received, reporters are pressing for the disclosure of body camera footage, 911 calls, criminal records, emails and text messages and other information.

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