#usa Today, Juneteenth, should be a federal holiday in the U.S.

June 19th, 1865 was the day all enslaved people in the U.S. finally knew they were free. It should be a federally recognized holiday! Sign Now Dear friends, Everyone in the U.S. is familiar with July 4th, the day the colonies that would become the first 13 states declared their independence from Britain. It's celebrated as a day of freedom and liberty, and is a national holiday. But there is another event that is widely overlooked that holds equal, if not greater, significance as a symbol of freedom and liberty. The event I'm referring to was the freeing of the last enslaved people within the United States on June 19th, 1865. On that day, the Emancipation Proclamation was read in Texas, freeing the people who were enslaved there. The Emancipation Proclamation had been issued more than two years earlier, but Texas was one of the most remote states still enslaving people at the time. June 19th, also known as Emancipation Day, Juneteenth, and Freedom Day is celebrated in some communities at the local and state level. But it is not a federally recognized holiday and it really should be. While freeing enslaved people did not end racial discrimination or violence in this country, it was the first in that direction. As such, it should be celebrated throughout the country. Many people within the U.S. never even learn about this day growing up, highlighting just how much the powers that be seem to want to erase this piece of history. Celebrating Juneteenth on a national level would be an important symbolic step towards acknowledging the harm of the past and present and reorienting ourselves as a country towards a truly equitable future. Sign the petition if you agree! In solidarity,   Kelsey B. The Care2 Petitions Team P.S. Juneteenth is a tremendously meaningful day in American history, it should be treated as such. Sign the petition to ask the U.S. to declare June 19th a recognized federal holiday.