Civil Rights · Historical Precedent·June 19, 2021
Biden signs Juneteenth federal holiday after decades of Black advocacy
Decades of Black advocacy finally recognized when enslaved people learned freedom
President Biden signed Juneteenth National Independence Day Act on Jun. 17, 2021
Decades of organizing led by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and activist Opal Lee finally achieved federal recognition
94-year-old Opal Lee led sustained grassroots activism for federal holiday recognition
Juneteenth recognizes when enslaved people actually learned they were free on Jun. 19, 1865
This was the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day 38 years earlier
George Floyd's murder created political momentum that decades of polite requests couldn't achieve
2.1 million federal workers now receive paid time off, providing concrete material benefits
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