Black Lives Still Matter, Con't

In something of a major miracle, the US Senate just passed Democratic Sen. Ed Markey's resolution on making Juneteenth a federal public holiday, with avowed racist GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin finally dropping his opposition to the bill.

The Senate unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day, a US holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. 

The legislation has gained momentum since the massive Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd last year and the Democrats' takeover of the White House and Congress. 

But Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson blocked the bill in 2020, saying that the day off for federal employees would cost US taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Johnson dropped his objection this week despite his concerns, paving the way for the bill's passage in the Senate. 

"Although I strongly support celebrating Emancipation, I objected to the cost and lack of debate," said Johnson in a statement. "While it still seems strange that having taxpayers provide federal employees paid time off is now required to celebrate the end of slavery, it is clear that there is no appetite in Congress to further discuss the matter." 

The measure needs to pass the House and be signed by President Joe Biden to become law.
On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger announced in Galveston, Texas, the end of slavery in accordance with President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. 

In 1980, Juneteenth became a Texas state holiday. In the decades since, every state but South Dakota came to officially commemorate Juneteenth, but only a handful of states observe it as a paid holiday.

 

I suspect many businesses will treat it much like Dr. King's birthday or the day after Thanksgiving: nice if your employer can give it to you off, but for the most part, it'll be ignored and most of us will be at work that particular day in favor of a "real" holiday like July 4th, or worse, given a choice of one of the two (I totally expect some tech company to announce that you can have your choice of one of the two holidays off in the very near future).

The measure should pass the House, although it won't be unanimous. You can bet the usual suspects will not vote yes, although I do expect the wiser ones will merely abstain.