Today (Monday) is Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of enslavement for African Americans, and for the first time, it is a state holiday in Minnesota.
Gov. Tim Walz signed the bill into law in February, two years after Juneteenth became a national holiday.
Walz said it’s important that all people know the reason behind the holiday.
“Our children can handle the truth,” said Walz. “Our children can handle what happened. Our children deserve and need to know what our true history looks like so we can truly become that inclusive state and country that we know we can be.”
Minnesota Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, the lead sponsor of the bill in the Senate, said: “This is about acknowledging our nation’s struggle, celebrating our history and recognizing the importance of forging our future together.”
In North Dakota, Juneteenth is observed, but is nota state holiday.
Juneteenth marks the date in 1865 when federal troops arrived in Texas to ensure that the last enslaved people in the U-S be set free — more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
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(Photo: MN Senate Media Services)
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