A young child walks past a painting depicting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during a Juneteenth celebration in Los Angeles on June 19, 2020. Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take control of the state and ensure all enslaved people were freed, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

On July 1, California Officially Recognized Juneteenth as a State Holiday

By Joe W. Bowers Jr. and Edward Henderson | California Black Media

This past weekend, on July 1, Assembly Bill (AB) 1655, which declares Juneteenth an official California state holiday took effect.

AB 1655, introduced by Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus, was signed into law by Gov. Newsom last September.

On June 19 of next year, California state employees can elect to take the day off work to commemorate the holiday celebrating the emancipation of formerly enslaved Black Americans.

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