The law passes to Biden for ratification
The United States House of Representatives has approved the law that makes it possible to make the ‘Juneteenth’ holiday, which is celebrated on June 19 and commemorates the end of slavery in the North American country, into a national holiday.
The legislation, which is now passed to President Joe Biden for ratification, has gained notoriety after strong protests in the country against racism and police brutality, framed in the Black Lives Matter movement. ) following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers.
The text has received the support of 415 congressmen against the vote against another 14, all of them Republicans. Republican Senator from Wisconsin Ron Johnson had blocked the measure in 2020 considering that the holiday would cost taxpayers millions of dollars, according to information from CNN.
However, Johnson has now withdrawn objections from him, paving the way for the resolution to pass in the Senate. “Although I support celebrating emancipation, I objected because of the cost and the lack of debate,” Johnson said.
The ‘Juneteenth’ commemorates the day that the declaration of emancipation signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 became effective in Texas, the last of the states to proclaim the decision, two years after the decree. A total of approximately 250,000 black slaves were freed ‘de facto’ in that state on July 19, 1865.
For much of the African-American population of the country, the ‘Juneteenth’ represents a much more heartfelt holiday than Independence Day, due to the negative associations that the latter entails as a prelude to the period of slavery in the United States.
