The U.S. Congress has voted to make ‘Juneteenth’ a federal holiday in the U.S. and Canadian News

Congress sends a bill to President Biden, turning June 19 into a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

The U.S. Congress passed the bill Wednesday Juneteenth, or June 19, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the country.

With a huge vote, the U.S. House of Representatives continued to pass the bill in the Senate, and sent the signature to President Joe Biden. The bill passed by the Senate on June 15, through a unanimously agreed agreement that accelerated the process of reviewing the legislation.

“The passage of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act is a long-standing recognition of the pain and suffering of our black communities for generations,” said Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat representative.

Juneteenth recalled that the last black Americans who were enslaved after the U.S. Civil War were free between the Confederate states that had slaves in the south and the free states in the Union in the north.

Confederate soldiers surrendered in April 1865, but did not arrive until the last black slaves arrived until June 19, when Union soldiers brought news of their freedom to Galveston, Texas. It has been more than two and a half years since President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862 to free American slaves.

Known as the “Second Independence Day” in the US, Juneteenth is a major holiday for African Americans and is celebrated in black communities in the US with prayer breakfasts, civic events, family gatherings, barbecues and parties.

“Turning Juneteenth into a federal holiday is a big step forward in discovering the wrongs of the past,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday.

“But we must continue to work to ensure equal justice and fulfill the promise of the Emancipation Proclamation and our Constitution.”

Juneteenth has taken on greater importance at the national level with the United States recently history of racism and an extended nation protests after death George Floyd last year, Black drowned under the knee of a white police officer.

“We have done so much work to get rid of systemic racism, discrimination and hatred in this country,” said Rep. Brenda Lawrence, a Democrat.

“Today we are still denied education, denied the opportunity for economic development, denied us the right to empowerment, work and the right to own property. We are experiencing significant racism and slavery. America is still the problem,” Lawrence said.

Republican Senator Ron Johnson opposed the bill to celebrate Juneteenth as a federal holiday in previous Congress because of the lack of debate and the cost, he said.

Johnson said he supports resolutions recognizing the importance of Juneteenth, but was worried that the new holiday will give federal employees another day off at a cost of about $ 600m a year.

“While it still seems rare for taxpayers to offer paid time to federal workers to celebrate the end of slavery, it is clear that there is no issue in Congress to discuss the issue further. Therefore, I have no intention of opposing it,” Johnson said in a statement before Tuesday’s vote.

Almost every state in the U.S. already recognizes Juneteenth as a holiday or an official celebration of that day, and most states hold celebrations. Juneteenth is a paid vacation for state employees in Texas, New York, Virginia and Washington, DC.

Under the law, federal holidays would be known as Juneteenth Independence National Day.