总统乔·拜登周四签署了一项法案六月是联邦假日纪念美国奴隶制的终结——正好赶上6月19日星期六的纪念日。
自内战时代以来，非洲裔美国人每年都庆祝这一天，这是倡导者数十年来努力争取全国对美国历史重大发展的认可的高潮。
欢欣鼓舞的副总统卡玛拉•哈里斯，美国第一位黑人副总统共同发起立法当她在参议院任职时，谈到这一场合的重要性，指出奴隶帮助建造了白宫。
埃文·武奇/美联社
澳普·李在纪念第六届全国独立大会通过的活动中获得认可.
“纵观历史，六月节有许多名称:禧年节。自由日。解放日。解放日。今天是一个全国性的节日，”哈里斯说，在白宫东厅充满了大约80名议员和其他客人的欢呼声和掌声。
“从这个房间向外看，我看到倡导者、活动家和领导人，他们呼吁这一天已经很久了，包括唯一的澳普·李女士，”她说，拜登离开舞台，走向94岁的他后来称之为“运动的祖母”。
2016年，89岁的李从她在德克萨斯州沃思堡的家走到国家的首都，试图将6月10日命名为国家假日。观众中还有音乐偶像亚瑟，他倡导这个节日。
埃文·武奇/美联社
乔·拜登总统在纪念总统大选的活动中聆听副总统卡玛拉•哈里斯的讲话
哈里斯注意到联邦假日在国民意识中扮演的角色。
“现在，作为一个国家，我们决定停下来总结一下，并经常承认我们的历史，”她说。“因此，当我们纪念六月的历史时，就像几周前我们纪念塔尔萨种族大屠杀一样，我们必须从我们的历史中吸取教训。我们必须教我们的孩子我们的历史。”
埃文·武奇/美联社
乔·拜登总统在纪念6月10日全国独立宣言通过的活动中发表讲话.
拜登随后发表了讲话，称6月10日是“意义深远、力量深远”的一天
他说:“在这一天，我们记住了奴隶制给这个国家带来的并将继续带来的道德污点，我一直称之为美国的原罪。”。
拜登继续说:“通过将6月10日定为联邦假日，所有美国人都可以感受到这一天的力量，从我们的历史中学习，庆祝进步，努力应对我们已经走过的路程，但还有我们必须走的路程。”
总统随后转向政治，提出了他所谓的“攻击”投票权。
拜登说:“你可以从限制性法律、恐吓威胁、选民清洗等方面看到这种攻击。“在这个国家的每个角落，平等的承诺实现之前，我们不能休息。那对我来说就是六月的意义。”
卡洛斯·巴里亚/路透社
当乔·拜登总统伸手拿起笔在6月10日的国家独立宣言上签名时，人们向他鼓掌
最终，他说6月10日“不仅仅是庆祝过去，而是呼吁今天就采取行动。”
联邦政府表示，大多数员工将于本周五休假，以纪念这一节日。近年来，围绕这一节日的庆祝活动越来越成为主流，在2020年美国经历了20世纪60年代后的种族清算后，这一节日变得更加重要乔治·弗洛伊德被杀。
周四早些时候，众议院议长南希·佩洛西和国会黑人核心小组的民主党人举行了法案登记仪式，以突出胜利。
吉姆·沃森/法新社通过盖蒂图像
副总统卡玛拉•哈里斯在一旁观看澳普·李(左二)，这位活动家被称为老奶奶
“这对美国来说是重要的一步，”她说。
最高级别的黑人议员、众议院多数党议员吉姆·克莱伯恩(Jim Clyburn)感谢同事们“为一个花了一个半世纪才解决的问题付出的巨大努力”。
然后，该小组唱了一首名为“提高每一个声音并歌唱”的赞美诗，也就是所谓的黑人国歌，以结束仪式。
J.斯科特·阿普尔怀特/美联社
从左至右，多数党党鞭詹姆斯·克莱伯恩，众议员阿尔·格林，众议员希拉·李庚翔，众议院议长.
倡导者说六月也称为自由日、解放日和解放日，提供了一个反思奴隶制在美国历史上可怕污点的日子，以及类似于7月4日的庆祝活动。
6月19日是庆祝1865年德克萨斯州加尔维斯顿的非裔美国奴隶最后被告知获得自由的日子——在《解放宣言》宣布邦联奴隶制非法整整两年半之后，在内战正式结束两个月后。
国家六月庆典基金会的秘书兼通信主任黛博拉·埃文斯称赞该法案在周四成为美国广播公司新闻的法律。
“终于!”她说。“我们不再是孤儿事件。”
J.斯科特·阿普尔怀特/美联社
从左至右，多数党党鞭詹姆斯·克莱伯恩，众议员阿尔·格林，众议员希拉·李庚翔，众议院议长
她附和民主党议员，说这为其他帮助治愈奴隶制创伤的途径铺平了道路。
“现在我们已经得到了认可，我们可以建立赔偿的势头，”她说。她还强调了教授节日历史的重要性，“不仅要训练孩子们，而且我们必须回去训练孩子们的第一任老师，他们的父母，因为许多人不知道六月。”
尽管倡导者们长期致力于六月是全国性的节日除了南达科他州之外，即使在州一级也取得了成功，一旦去年阻止这项法案的共和党参议员罗恩·约翰逊放弃反对，国会只花了两天时间就通过了这项法案。
该法案随后在周三获得参议院一致通过，然后在周四晚上以415票对14票通过众议院，所有反对意见都来自共和党成员。
6月8日是国会近40年来设立的第一个新节日，1983年，立法者将马丁·路德·金日指定为1月份的第三个星期一，以纪念这位被暗杀的民权领袖。
在拜登签字之前，美国人事管理局在推特上说，“大多数联邦雇员将在明天，6月18日庆祝这个节日”，因为它是在周末。
乔·雷德尔/盖蒂图像，文件
2020年6月19日，亚特兰大百年奥林匹克公园，人们在6月10日的活动中一起祈祷。
在政治压力下，前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)重新安排了2020年6月19日在俄克拉荷马州塔尔萨(Tulsa)的竞选集会，此前他因将集会安排在假日和1921年塔尔萨种族屠杀现场附近而被批评为文化不敏感。特朗普表示，他“出于对这一场合的尊重”而移动了集会。
在得克萨斯大学教授种族问题的社会研究教授安东尼·布朗告诉美国广播公司新闻，他希望6月10日被承认为国家假日将为教师和社区教育工作者提供一个平台，让他们有空间讨论历史，并提供机会在邻里之间团结群体。
“如果你拍下我们美国人在7月4日做的事情，你会在6月份的庆祝活动中看到同样的活动，”他说。“我真的希望6月10日还会有大量的历史背景和对1865年发生在德克萨斯州加尔维斯顿的自由表达的记忆。”
比尔·克拉克/CQ-通过盖蒂影像公司点名
在华盛顿纪念碑的基座上，美国国会大厦的穹顶在美国国旗后面...
Biden signs bill making Juneteenth, marking the end of slavery, a federal holiday
PresidentJoe Bidensigned a bill Thursday makingJuneteenth a federal holidaycommemorating the end of slavery in the United States -- just in time for Saturday's June 19 anniversary.
It's a day African Americans have celebrated yearly since the Civil War-era and the culmination of a decades-long effort by advocates to get national recognition for the momentous development in American history.
A jubilant Vice President Kamala Harris, the nation's first Black vice president, whoco-sponsored the legislationwhen she served in the Senate, spoke about the significance of the occasion, noting slaves helped build the White House.
“Throughout history, Juneteenth has been known by many names: Jubilee Day. Freedom Day. Liberation Day. Emancipation Day. And today, a national holiday,” Harris said, to cheers and applause in a White House East Room filled with about 80 lawmakers and other guests.
“And looking out across this room, I see the advocates, the activists, the leaders, who have been calling for this day for so long, including the one and only Ms. Opal Lee,” she said, before Biden left the stage and walked over to the 94-year-old he later called the "grandmother of the movement."
In 2016, at 89-years old, Lee walked from her home in Fort Worth, Texas, to the nation's capital in an effort to get Juneteenth named a national holiday. Also in the audience was musical icon Usher, who has advocated for the holiday.
Harris noted the role federal holidays play in the national consciousness.
"These are days when we, as a nation, have decided to stop and take stock, and often to acknowledge our history," she said. "So as we commemorate the history of Juneteenth, as we did just weeks ago with the Tulsa Race Massacre, we must learn from our history. And we must teach our children our history."
Biden then spoke, calling Juneteenth a day of "profound weight and profound power."
"A day in which we remember the moral stain that the terrible toll that slavery took on the country and continues to take, what I have long called America's original sin," he said.
"By making Juneteenth a federal holiday, all Americans can feel the power of this day and learn from our history and celebrate progress and grapple with the distance we’ve come but the distance we have to travel," Biden continued.
The president then turned political, raising what he called the "assault" onvoting rights.
"You see this assault from restrictive laws, threats of intimidation, voter purges and more," Biden said. "We can't rest until the promise of equality is fulfilled for everyone in every corner of this nation. That to me is the meaning of Juneteenth."
Ultimately, he said Juneteenth "doesn't just celebrate the past -- it calls for action today."
The federal government said most employees will be off this Friday to mark the occasion, around which celebrations have become more mainstream in recent years, taking on added significance in 2020 when the country went through a racial reckoning after thekilling of George Floyd.
Earlier Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democrats in the Congressional Black Caucus held bill enrollment ceremony to highlight the victory.
"This is an important step for America," she said.
Majority Whip Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., the highest-ranking Black lawmaker, thanked colleagues for their "tremendous effort on behalf of an issue that has taken more than a century and a half."
The group then sang the hymn "Lift Every Voice and Sing," what's called the Black National Anthem, to close the ceremony.
Advocates sayJuneteenth-- also known as Freedom Day, Liberation Day and Emancipation Day -- offers a day to reflect on slavery's terrible stain on American history and for celebrations that look similar to those on the Fourth of July.
It's celebrated on June 19 to mark the day in 1865 when African American slaves in Galveston, Texas, were among the last to be told they had been freed -- a full two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation outlawed slavery in the Confederacy and two months after the Civil War officially ended.
Deborah Evans, secretary and director of communications with the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, praised the bill becoming law to ABC News on Thursday.
"Finally!" she said. "We are no longer the orphan event."
Echoing Democratic lawmakers, she said it paves the way for other routes to help heal the wounds of slavery.
“Now that we've gotten the recognition, we can build off that momentum for reparations," she said. She also highlighted the importance of teaching the history of the holiday "to train not only the children, but we've got to go back and train the children's first teachers, their parents, because many do not know about Juneteenth."
Though advocates have long worked to makeJuneteenth a national holiday, even succeeding at the state level everywhere but South Dakota, it took Congress just two days to pass the legislation once one Republican senator, Sen. Ron Johnson, who blocked the move last year, dropped his opposition.
The bill then passed the Senate by unanimous consent on Wednesday before passing the House Thursday night in a 415-14 vote, with all opposition coming from GOP members.
Juneteenth is the first new holiday created by Congress in nearly 40 years, when lawmakers in 1983 designated Martin Luther King Jr. Day as the third Monday in January to memorialize the assassinated civil rights leader.
Ahead of Biden's signing, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management said on Twitter that "most federal employees will observe the holiday tomorrow, June 18th" since it falls on a weekend.
Under political pressure, former President Donald Trump rescheduled a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 19, 2020, after he was criticized as culturally insensitive for scheduling the rally on the holiday and near the site of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Trump said he moved the rally, "out of respect" for the occasion.
Anthony Brown, a social studies professor who teaches on race matters at the University of Texas, told ABC News he hopes Juneteenth being recognized as a national holiday will provide a platform for teachers and community educators to have a space to discuss the history, as well give the opportunity to unify groups at a neighbor-to-neighbor level.
"If you took a picture of what kinds of things we do as Americans during the Fourth of July, you'll see the same kinds of activities at a Juneteenth celebration," he said. "I do hope with Juneteenth there's also going to be a significant amount of historical context and remembering of the expression of freedom that took in place in Galveston, Texas, in 1865.”
