Richland lawmaker’s push to make Juneteenth a state holiday in SC heads to Senate debate
Juneteenth, a day that marks the end of slavery in the United States, could be come a state holiday in South Carolina.
The Senate’s Family and Veteran Services Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to advance legislation to the full Senate that would give state employees the option to take the day of Juneteenth, or June 19, off.
Juneteenth, also referred to as “Juneteenth Independence Day,” “Freedom Day” and “Emancipation Day,” is a holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States on June 19, 1865, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
The delay was because it took years for the news to reach all enslaved African Americans.
If the bill, sponsored by Sen. Darrell Jackson, D-Richland, becomes law, Juneteenth would become an official state holiday in South Carolina, meaning that state agencies, public colleges and universities could observe it.
The proposal goes one step further.
Lawmakers expanded the bill Wednesday to give state employees the option of taking off Juneteenth, Confederate Memorial Day on May 10 or a different day of their choosing throughout the year.
State Sen. Kevin Johnson, D-Clarendon, said they made the change after the Department of Administration told lawmakers it was concerned that state agencies would have to close completely if a large group of state employees took Juneteenth off. The amendment, Johnson said, would help space out vacancies, and allow state agencies to continue operating on Juneteenth and Confederate Memorial Day.
Juneteenth already occupies a special place in South Carolina.
In 2018, June 19 was designated as “Juneteenth Celebration of Freedom Day,” but state lawmakers stopped short of making it a legal holiday.
Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia recognize Juneteenth, though most, like South Carolina, don’t recognize it as a state holiday. Juneteenth is a federally recognized holiday.
President Joe Biden signed the move into law last summer, calling it one of the greatest honors of his presidency. The bill passed unanimously out of the U.S. Senate and passed the U.S. House by a vote of 415-14.
South Carolina’s U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-Rock Hill, was the only delegation member to vote against it.
This story was originally published February 23, 2022 at 10:38 AM with the headline "Richland lawmaker’s push to make Juneteenth a state holiday in SC heads to Senate debate."
