Kansas governor announces Juneteenth will be observed as a state holiday

2024-12-25 14:19:38 source: category:Markets

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.”

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.

More:Markets

Recommend

Cold case arrest: Florida man being held in decades-old Massachusetts double murder

A 46-year-old double murder in Massachusetts has had its first break in decades.Police have made an

Farmington police release video from fatal shooting of armed man on Navajo reservation

FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — The Farmington Police Department on Thursday released video from a shooting

Gunman opens fire on city of Buffalo vehicle, killing one employee and wounding two others

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A city of Buffalo employee was killed and two others were wounded Thursday when