Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a bill into law last week making June 19th an official state holiday.
Juneteenth – a mashup of “June” and “nineteenth” – commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. On Juneteenth, 1865, Union soldiers entered Galveston, Texas, and notified those enslaved that they had been freed by President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. That proclamation became official on January 1, 1863, more than two years earlier.
Over the years, efforts to recognize the day as an official federal holiday have failed. (6/16 update: Congress passed a bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday). In 1980, Texas was the first state to declare Juneteenth an official state holiday. Most states now recognize June 19th as either a state or ceremonial holiday.
Juneteenth Oregon Celebration was founded in 1945. Portland community leader, Clara Peoples, introduced the tradition from Muskogee, Oklahoma, to her co-workers at the Kaiser Shipyards in Portland.
In 2001, the Oregon legislature adopted Senate Joint Resolution 31 observing Juneteenth each year, 'to be a day for celebration statewide of the dignity and freedom of all citizens, but it did not become an official state holiday.
When the city of Portland and Multnomah County recognized Juneteenth as a paid holiday last year, Gov. Kate Brown said she would introduce legislation next session to make Juneteenth a state holiday.
HB 2168 will take effect on the 91st day after adjournment of the Oregon Legislature on June 28, meaning that Oregon will celebrate Juneteenth as an official state holiday next year on June 19, 2022.
Correction: An earlier version of this post listed the incorrect date of the bill signing.
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