Juneteenth Act is an 'important step for America' -Pelosi

"This is an important step for America, as we ensure that one of the most momentous events in our history finally takes its official place of honor in our nation," said Pelosi, who was joined by members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Biden plans to sign the bill into law at a White House event on Thursday afternoon.

The holiday marks the day in 1865 when a Union general informed a group of enslaved people in Texas that they had been made free two years earlier by President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War.