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Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, D-Anchorage, speaks during a Senate floor session in Juneau on Feb, 8, 2019.
Juneteenth, a portmanteau of “June” and “nineteenth,” celebrates the freedom of enslaved people in the United States. For Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, the sponsor of the bill, it is important that Juneteenth is recognized in the same way as other holidays. The holiday commemorates when the last enslaved people in the Confederacy learned they were free. While the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, didn’t learn about their freedom until nearly two years later, on June 19, 1865. The holiday is also known as Emancipation Day or Freedom Day.
Since 2001, Alaska state law has recognized Juneteenth on the third Saturday of June each year, and mandates a proclamation from the governor. Dunleavy made no mention of Senate Bill 22 in his on Saturday. For Celeste Hodge Growden, the president and CEO of the Alaska Black Caucus, celebrating Juneteenth as a state holiday means a “time to reflect, a time to educate, and a time to celebrate.
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