Texas' 'Juneteenth' to become new Washington State holiday

OLYMPIA – State representatives approved a bill to make “Juneteenth” a state holiday to honor the day slaves in Texas learned of their freedom.

On June 19, 1863 Union Army General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and told the slaves they were freed. But, it was Jan. 1, 1865 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution ended slavery in the United States. It was nearly three years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was delivered on Sept. 22, 1862.

In Olympia, June 19th took a step closer to being recognized as a state holiday after the House of Representatives voted 89-8 on Feb. 25 in favor of Juneteenth.

HB 1016 marks one of several attempts this session to address the lasting, systemic effects of slavery and racism in the country.

“The time is now. This bill is more than just about a holiday,” said the bill’s primary sponsor, Rep. Melanie Morgan, D-Tacoma. “It is about true recognition and acknowledgement that chattel slavery did happen in this country.”

The law garnered support from both Democrats and Republicans, though some Republican lawmakers took issue with the fiscal impact of the bill, which would cost the state around $7 million of paid leave for state employees to take off work on June 19.

Morgan said she understood the fiscal impact, but mentioned the country and Washington state in particular benefited from more than $3 trillion made “off the backs of enslaved people.”

“It’s not even close to the real cost of racial injustice,” she said.

Rep. Mike Volz, R-Spokane, supported the bill, saying he considered himself a history buff but was surprised at how little he, and many Washingtonians, knew about this historic day.

“It’s important to acknowledge the fact that Americans came together — white and black — to work to free the slaves,” Volz said.

HB 1016 will move on to the Senate for further consideration.