Juneteenth would be a state holiday under House-passed bills

Arpan Lobo, Detroit Free Press
Updated ·2 min read
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From Left, Twins, Emi LaRosa, 9, and Gemma LaRosa, 9, dance to the violin music played by Kym Brady, 20, at the Juneteenth Fest at the Eastern Market in Detroit on Sunday, June 19, 2022. The Michigan House of Representatives voted Wednesday, June 14, 2023, to make Juneteenth a public holiday in Michigan.
From Left, Twins, Emi LaRosa, 9, and Gemma LaRosa, 9, dance to the violin music played by Kym Brady, 20, at the Juneteenth Fest at the Eastern Market in Detroit on Sunday, June 19, 2022. The Michigan House of Representatives voted Wednesday, June 14, 2023, to make Juneteenth a public holiday in Michigan.
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State representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor Wednesday of making June 19, or Juneteenth, a state public holiday.

Juneteenth commemorates the June 19, 1865, arrival of Union troops into Galveston, Texas, after the conclusion of the U.S. Civil War to announce to more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state that they were freed, after President Abraham Lincoln made the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Juneteenth is also viewed informally as America's second Independence Day, according to the House Fiscal Agency.

"Designating Juneteenth as an official state recognized holiday in Michigan honors those who were wrongly enslaved in our country," said Rep. Helena Scott, D-Detroit, who sponsored the House bill. "It encourages citizens to pause on June 19 and reflect on the strong survival instincts of the African-American slaves and on the great joy with which the African-Americans first celebrated the abolition of slavery."

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The state House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 50 and House Bill 4457 by a wide margin, 105-4. Reps. Steve Carra, R-Three Rivers; Neil Friske, R-Charlevoix; Matt Maddock, R-Milford; and Josh Schriver, R-Oxford, voted against the bills.

President Joe Biden signed legislation in 2021 recognizing Juneteenth as a federal holiday, and now Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will have the opportunity to do the same at the state level.

Senate Bill 50 is poised to advance to Whitmer's desk for signature. Whitmer is expected to sign off on the legislation, having signed a proclamation making Juneteenth a court holiday and a holiday for state employees last year.

Juneteenth would be the 12th state holiday in Michigan. As a state recognized holiday, government buildings and courts remain closed for the day.

Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @arpanlobo.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan House votes to make Juneteenth a public holiday