LANSING, Mich. (May 17, 2023) — Today, the Michigan Senate voted nearly unanimously to pass Sen. Sylvia Santana’s (D-Detroit) Senate Bill 50, legislation that would establish “Juneteenth,” or June 19, as a state-recognized holiday. The bill will bring Juneteenth on par with other state and federal holidays as a bank and judicial holiday in Michigan.
“I have been working on this issue throughout my time in the Senate. I am honored to carry on the great work of my legislative predecessors and am so proud to see this bill pass the full Senate—and nearly unanimously,” said Sen. Santana. “This is another major milestone as we work in our state and our nation to tackle our history head on and better acknowledge, recognize, and in this case, celebrate the diverse experiences of all cultures and races. I appreciate the widespread, bipartisan support of this bill and the progress and awareness of Juneteenth that it illustrates, and I will keep looking for ways to find common ground to make a Michigan a more inclusive state for all.”
The oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the U.S., Juneteenth is often attributed to the ratification of the 13th Amendment. However, this information is historically inaccurate, as Juneteenth is a celebration of when Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War had ended and that the enslaved were now free. This was two-and-a-half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which had become official on Jan. 1, 1863.
Establishing Juneteenth as an official state holiday supports an ongoing effort to expand racial justice and equity in Michigan and further promotes the commemoration of when all slaves heard the news that they were emancipated from slavery.
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