The head of the Berkshire County Chapter of the NAACP wants to see Juneteenth celebrated as a national holiday.
The day unofficially commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, and dates back to 1866 – just a year after Union General Gordon Granger read out federal orders freeing enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, on June 19th, 1865. Dennis Powell says Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom that should be recognized nationwide.
“It continues to remind all of us of an unfortunate time in our history – slavery – and to be free when we should have been free at birth,” he told WAMC.
On Wednesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order recognizing Juneteenth as an official holiday for state employees. The same day, two Democratic Massachusetts State Representatives filed legislation to have the commonwealth officially recognize the holiday.
