Young girls celebrate Juneteenth (photo: Flickr)
Juneteenth Is Now A State Holiday in Nevada
Assembly Bill 140, sponsored by a group of bipartisan lawmakers, was signed into law by Governor Lombardo
By Megan Barth, June 12, 2023 11:30 am
Governor Joe Lombardo announced he signed Assembly Bill 140, sponsored by a group of bipartisan legislators, which makes Junettenth a state holiday in Nevada and “commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.”
According to historical record, on June 19, 1865, some two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas with news of freedom. More than 250,000 African Americans across Texas were granted freedom by executive decree in what became known as Juneteenth or Freedom Day. The date
Today, I was honored to sign AB 140, which officially made Juneteenth a state holiday in Nevada. Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, and I’m proud that Nevada will now recognize this holiday on a state and federal level. pic.twitter.com/eDxLySbok0
— Governor Joe Lombardo (@JosephMLombardo) June 8, 2023
The holiday will be observed on June 19th, unless the day falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will be observed. If June 19th falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday will be observed. All state, county and city offices, courts, public schools and the Nevada System of Higher Education must close as provided by state statute.
The day was first recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.
Governor Lombardo has signed 262 bills and has issued 32 vetoes. The Governor has until June 16th to sign or veto legislation, or the bills will automatically become law. The legislature is currently in a second special session to discuss SB-1, a bill related to public’s financing of the A’s baseball stadium in Las Vegas.
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January 7, 2023 -
While I wish I learned about Juneteenth in school as a student in Seattle, WA in the 1980’s.. and more United States history for that matter.
As a middle aged woman I’m learning everyday, what I didn’t learn as a high school dropout and former teenage mom.
Juneteenth is a wonderful celebration… for the state of Texas. Not federal. If I only learned about Juneteenth as a product of public school.. there is a whole lot of history missing for the younger generations.
The Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln ion January 1, 1863. The proclamation declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free.”
More needs to be taught… before history continues to not be taught or is rewritten out of the George Orwell handbook of 1949. Just saying.