MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has reinstated Juneteenth, the day commemorating the abolition of slavery in the United States, as a state holiday, but legislative efforts to make it a permanent holiday in the state remain pending. has had a difficult time so far.
Ivey’s office announced Monday that June 19 will be a day off for state employees to coincide with the federal holiday.
Juneteenth is a federal holiday starting in 2021.
This is the fourth year that Ivey has designated this day as a state holiday.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865. This is the day enslaved people in Galveston, Texas learned they were free from Union soldiers.
The news came two months after the end of the Civil War and about two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
Making Juneteenth a permanent state holiday would require action by the Alabama Legislature.
Efforts have been made to do so or to eliminate or rename the state’s three Confederate-related holidays. So far, none of these efforts have been successful.
Bills proposed this year You can also add Juneteenth as a permanent holiday. State employees would have been able to choose whether they wanted to take that day or Jefferson Davis’ birthday off from work.
The state House of Representatives approved the bill, but the Alabama Senate did not pass it.
Alabama has three Confederate-affiliated states. Holidays when state offices are closed.
Alabama celebrates Confederate Memorial Day in April and Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ birthday in June.
The state jointly celebrates Robert E. Lee Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January.
