Kansas governor announces Juneteenth will be observed as a state holiday

By Associated Press

·October 11, 2023

In this June 19, 2020, file photo, demonstrators march through downtown Orlando, Fla., during a Juneteenth event. (AP Photo / John Raoux, File)

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas will designate Juneteenth as a state holiday, joining 28 other states and the District of Columbia, Gov. Laura Kelly said Tuesday.

Kelly, a Democrat, said in a news release that establishing the state holiday “provides Kansans an opportunity to celebrate our state’s diversity and honor the ongoing struggles for racial equality.”

In this June 19, 2020, file photo, demonstrators march through downtown Orlando, Fla., during a Juneteenth event. (Photo by John Raoux, AP, File)

Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free. For generations, Black Americans have recognized the end of one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history with joy, in the form of parades, street festivals, musical performances or cookouts.

In 2021, President Joe Biden signed a bill passed by Congress to set aside Juneteenth, or June 19th, as a federal holiday.

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