The Fourth of July is recognized throughout the United States as the holiday to celebrate freedom, but "it's especially jarring to recall that on July 4, 1776, there were many Americans who could not enjoy freedom" (Rodriguez). There is a second Day of Freedom recognized throughout the country, but this is a holiday not widely known by American citizens. For most employees, June 19 may seem like any other workday, but if you check your smartphone's calendar, you’ll find this date is the observed holiday of Juneteenth.

Juneteenth (a combination of the words “June” and “nineteenth”) is also known as Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, and Black Independence Day. This holiday is the oldest known to celebrate the official end of slavery in the United States.

Although the Emancipation Proclamation had legally freed slaves in 1863, some slave masters withheld the information from their slaves, holding them as slaves through one more harvest season. It was on June 19, 1865 that the Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free...2.5 years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation (Zenefits Team). "In 1980, Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth a state holiday, although it had been celebrated informally since 1865" (Rodriguez). 46 out of 50 states (and the District of Colombia) have passed legislation recognizing it as a holiday or observance, the most recent being New Hampshire in 2019.

Even though Louisiana declared Juneteenth an observed holiday in 2003, it is not yet a legal state holiday like Independence Day ("Juneteenth: Fact Sheet"). As stated by Feminista Jones, "Independence Day, which celebrates the succession of the former U.S. colonies from British control, overlooks the fact that Black people in America were still enslaved when this holiday started and are still in the fight for basic human rights in this country today. Juneteenth, on the other hand, commemorates the sacrifices of our ancestors and offers a moment to reflect on the work ahead of us. The work that get us ALL free." 

It is in this spirit that I, along with the persons who have signed, petition the State of Louisiana to acknowledge Juneteenth as a legal state holiday with all of the honor and standing duly given to Independence Day.

Thank you to those who support this cause by signing the petition and sharing it. Together, we can make change happen.

Jones, Feminista. “#CelebrateJuneteenth: Make It A National Holiday.” OrganizeFor, campaigns.organizefor.org/petitions/celebrate-juneteenth.​

“Juneteenth: Fact Sheet.” Federation of American Scientists, Congressional Research Service, 2020, fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44865.pdf.​

Rodriguez, Bianca. “Make Sure to Celebrate Juneteenth This Month.” Marie Claire, Marie Claire, 2 June 2020, www.marieclaire.com/politics/a32743831/juneteenth-holiday/.​

Zenefits team. “Celebrating the Juneteenth Holiday: Ways Your Business Can Support Juneteenth.” Workest, 4 June 2020, www.zenefits.com/workest/celebrating-the-juneteenth-holiday-ways-your-business-can-support-juneteenth/.