At least 20 states don’t recognize Juneteenth as a legal holiday

Juneteenth has been a federal holiday for two years now. The holiday recognizes the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Texas learned they were free, following the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier. 

But about half the states in the nation have not made Juneteenth an official state holiday, according to the Congressional Research Service. Efforts to change that are ongoing. 

Minnesota Senate President Bobby Joe Champion sponsored a bill signed into law this year making Juneteenth a state holiday, meaning state workers get a paid day off.

He knows there’s a cost, but “the benefits outweigh the costs, right?” he said. “You know, productivity is increased when people feel good about their workplace.”

And he hopes private companies follow suit. The holiday is an opportunity for celebration and education, explained Michigan State Representative Helena Scott — whose Juneteenth measure passed just last week. 

“Slavery really is a stain on our society,” she said. “So I think by acknowledging this, recognizing it and really learning about it, that’s the whole point of celebrating June 19th.”

Many in the movement to make Juneteenth a legal holiday in every state take inspiration from the campaign for Martin Luther King Day.

“Understanding that it took years and years of activism and education to finally get all states to adopt it, Juneteenth could likely follow a similar trajectory,” said Dartmouth history professor Matthew Delmont.

After MLK Day was recognized by the federal government in 1983, it took 17 years before it became an official holiday in all 50 states.