WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday after Sen.
Ron Johnson, R-Wis., announced he would not block the legislation like he did last year. Juneteenth — which officially falls on June 19 — marks the day in 1865 when enslaved Black people in Texas were freed with the arrival of federal troops, nearly two-and-a-half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Though slavery was not completely abolished until the 13th Amendment, which came six months later, Juneteenth has come to symbolize the end of slavery.Sen.
John Cornyn, R-Texas, who introduced the bill along with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, praised the passage of the legislation on his Twitter.