Oregon Votes To Make Juneteenth A Holiday

The state’s legislature has decided that Juneteenth will be an official state holiday in Oregon, making Oregon the fourth state to make the event an official celebration. This will be in effect next year. In a statement released by Oregon Senate Democrats; “With House Bill 2168, we can learn from another time. We can change the future now, in real-time. We can work towards equality – even without a declaration or official holiday. We must. Celebrating Juneteenth will help each of us remember all that we can and must do to ensure a more just future.”

Juneteenth is the oldest celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. It pays homage to the days following the end of the Civil War when Union Army Major General Gordon Granger traveled to Galveston, Texas informing enslaved Black people that the war was over and that they had been free for more than two years.

Source: BET