SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 19: A woman on a roof holds a Black Lives Matter sign during the Freedom March & Celebration organized by King County Equity Now in Seattle, Washington on June 19, 2020. The US on Friday marked Juneteenth, the annual co …
OLYMPIA, Wash. - The Washington state Legislature has passed a measure that makes Juneteenth a legal state holiday.
The measure making June 19 a state paid holiday passed the Democratic-led Senate on a bipartisan 47-1 vote and now heads to Gov. Jay Inslee for his signature. The House passed the measure in February on an 89 -9 vote.
RELATED: Seattle organization commemorates Juneteenth by calling for police accountability
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Seattle organization commemorates Juneteenth by calling for police accountability
Seattle organization commemorates Juneteenth by calling for police accountability
Juneteenth — also known as Emancipation Day and Freedom Day — commemorates when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free in 1865 in Galveston, Texas, where Union soldiers brought them the news two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
RELATED: Juneteenth: A day of joy and pain - and now national action
In 2007, the Legislature designated Juneteenth as a day of remembrance. South Dakota and Hawaii are the only other states that don’t have some sort of official observance of Juneteenth.
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