(June 21, 2009) - President Obama and other leaders asked the nation to reflect on Juneteenth, one of the nation’s unofficial holidays that started in Texas but is now observed throughout the nation.
Juneteenth is considered by many as the “Black Fourth of July.” On June 19, 1865, Blacks in the Lone Star State learned that they were no longer enslaved.
Since then, June 19th is marked with festivities such as picnics, carnivals, concerts and literary reflection. Texas became the first state to recognize Juneteenth as a paid holiday for state workers in 1980 and it is recognized today as a holiday of sorts in 31 states and the District of Columbia.
Obama said that Juneteenth provides a chance to reflect, appreciate and trace family lineage.
“African-Americans helped to build our nation brick by brick and have contributed to her growth in every way, even when rights and liberties were denied to them,” Obama said in a statement. “In light of the historic unanimous vote in the United States Senate this week supporting the call for an apology for slavery and segregation, the occasion carries even more significance.”
U.S. House of Representatives Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said that the holiday “should not just be celebrated by African Americans, but by all Americans.”
”June 19th has become a day where all Americans can stand together and embrace our history, celebrate the present, and look forward to our future and all it beholds," Clyburn said in a statement. “This day is about bringing people together to commemorate the massive strides that have been made not only in the African-American community, but within our country as a whole. Though we have come far, we also have to recognize that we have a far way to go.”
The Rev. Ronald Myers of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation is working to get the U.S. Congress to get the holiday recognized as a national observance. Myers’ efforts have long been endorsed by the NAACP and the Congressional Black Caucus.
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