Juneteenth Celebrated as Newest Federal Holiday

June 19, informally referred to as Juneteenth, is the nation’s newest federal holiday, commemorating when the last enslaved people in Texas learned of their emancipation, two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. As ANCOR CEO Barbara Merrill explained in her message to ANCOR membership: “Passed by Congress [with overwhelming support] this week, it is the first new federal holiday created by Congress since 1983, when lawmakers voted to establish Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. It has been a Texas state holiday since 1980.”

We share this both because ANCOR observed the Juneteenth holiday on Friday and will continue to do so in future years, and to encourage our members to observe it moving forward.