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6. Juneteenth Finally Is a National Holiday

It took 156 years for Juneteenth to become a federal holiday. On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law, making it the first new federal holiday since 1983. He also issued a proclamation marking the occasion:

"NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 19, 2021, as Juneteenth Day of Observance. I call upon the people of the United States to acknowledge and celebrate the end of the Civil War and the emancipation of Black Americans, and commit together to eradicate systemic racism that still undermines our founding ideals and collective prosperity."

A young woman stands near a piece of art created during the Louisville Juneteenth Festival at the Big Four Lawn on June 19, 2021 in Louisville, Kentucky. Juneteenth, or Emancipation Day, commemorates the end of chattel slavery on June 19, 1865 in Galveston, Texas, in compliance with President Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. U.S. President Joe Biden signed legislation into law as Juneteenth National Independence Day on June 17th, 2021. Jon Cherry / Getty Images

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