For the first time in nearly 40 years, Congress has moved to establish a new national holiday, this time for Juneteenth, and just in time for Saturday’s156th anniversary of the day which marks the last African American slaves being freed in Texas in the wake of the Civil War.
The House voted Wednesday night to pass the legislation. It heads next to President Joe Biden’s desk for a signature. When Biden signs it, as he’s expected to at 3:30 p.m. ET Thursday, according to the White House, Juneteenth will officially become a federal holiday — the first since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was signed into law in 1983.
