Juneteenth should be observed by all Americans

Juneteenth — also known as Freedom Day, Emancipation Day or Black Independence Day — commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger read General Order No. 3 announcing total emancipation of the last remaining enslaved people in the United States at Galveston Island, Texas.

While Texas was not a Confederate state, slave owners migrated there to escape the reach of the Union Army. Gen. Granger arrived with 2,000 Union troops to enforce emancipation of slaves, 2½ years following the Emancipation Proclamation and two months following the end of the Civil War.

Texas was the first state to officially recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday in 1980. Since 2000, the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation has been working to establish June 19th as a national day of observance. Today 46 states and the District of Columbia have enacted such legislation, with Gov. Tom Wolf signing a law recognizing “Juneteenth National Freedom Day” on June 19, 2019, making Pennsylvania the most recent state to officially observe this watershed event in our national history.

However, the goal to nationally recognize Juneteenth as a national day of observance remains unfulfilled. On June 19, everyone in America who values equality and equal justice should take time to reflect on the events and legacies of Juneteenth.

The death of George Floyd while in police custody triggered waves of protest across our nation and focused renewed attention to many longstanding residual effects of institutional racism that began with the original sin of slavery. While citizens and authorities grapple to find appropriate and just ways to redress inequities, members of Congress are under pressure and scrutiny. It should now be an easy task for Congress to come together to finish the work of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation and enact Juneteenth as a national day of observance. Now is the time. MAGDELINE JENSEN

Fox Chapel