By JULIE CUNNINGHAM
(Greenfield, MA) June 18, 2021 marks the first year the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will officially recognize Juneteenth as an official holiday. Also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, and Emancipation Day, the holiday marks the announcement of Union Army General Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865 proclaiming freedom from slavery in Texas for all enslaved people. Two and a half years earlier President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation, outlawing slavery in all states in rebellion against the Union. Until the 13th amendment was ratified, slavery was still legal in Delaware and Kentucky for another year.
The Human Rights Commission of Greenfield, or HRC, issued a statement in support of Juneteenth, stating that the pandemic precludes the HRC from celebrating Juneteenth in the deserving manor.
“We believe that this is a holiday to be celebrated by all people in recognition of the end of legal slavery in our country, even as we continue the work of confronting the challenges that remain,” said the council in a joint statement.
Juneteenth is currently recognized as a holiday in 47 states across the country. Hawaii, North Dakota, and South Dakota are the three states that do not recognize the holiday. Governor Deval Patrick originally signed a proclamation recognizing Juneteenth as a holiday in 2007, but it wasn’t until June 2020 that current Governor Charlie Baker declared Juneteenth as an official state holiday.