The most recent federal holiday, Juneteenth National Independence Day, commemorates the abolition of slavery in the United States. However, at the state level, different governments have significant variations in how they observe this day, ranging from an official holiday to a day of observance or something in between.
From this year onwards, Connecticut, Minnesota, Nevada, and Tennessee have designated Juneteenth as an official state holiday. Based on an analysis conducted by the Pew Research Center that considered state human resources websites, legislative acts, and news articles, it has been identified that a minimum of 28 states and the District of Columbia will officially acknowledge Juneteenth as a public holiday. Consequently, government offices at the state level will be closed, and employees will be granted a paid day off.
The newest federal holiday in the United States is Juneteenth, which is celebrated differently across the states. Pew Research Center analyzed how each state commemorates the day.
In states where applicable, state legislation augmented these compilations with an assessment of news coverage regarding local commemorations of Juneteenth. Our primary resources for this evaluation consisted of state administrative, personnel, and human resources websites – the majority of which publish rosters of authorized state festivities. As a result, with state institutions being closed and state employees receiving compensation for the day, our emphasis was on states that formally recognize Juneteenth as an official public holiday.
In 2006, the Legislature of New Mexico included Juneteenth as an official state holiday, celebrated on the third Saturday of June; for the very first time in 2022, it transformed into a compensated holiday for government employees. If Juneteenth occurs on a workday, government employees in Illinois receive a compensated holiday. Juneteenth was sanctioned as a holiday for government employees this year, the previous year, and in 2021 by governors in Alabama and West Virginia. In order for it to become a permanent official state holiday, each state’s legislatures must enact a law. The proclamations of the governors must be issued yearly in the absence of enduring legislation.
Juneteenth is observed every year and designated as an official state holiday in most of these states. In Alabama and West Virginia, the governor has proclaimed Juneteenth as a state holiday for this year; the holiday can be made permanent in these states if their legislatures pass bills to establish it as such.
Juneteenth is a public holiday officially declared by the government in certain states and the District of Columbia, where workers are given a day off but other states have not yet leveled the playing field.
In Pennsylvania, the day is recognized as a “formal yearly observance” and a compensated day off for state personnel under the governor’s authority. Commencing this year, California state personnel have the option to utilize Juneteenth as a substitute for a personal day off. Furthermore, in North Carolina, certain state employees have the option to utilize a flexible holiday on a day of “cultural, religious, or personal importance,” which encompasses Juneteenth.
Juneteenth is the combination of words in June and the two months that follow the end of the Civil War, as well as the two months that follow the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln, when Black Americans in Galveston, Texas were finally informed of their freedom after being enslaved for more than two years.
Although holidays on federal vary, most businesses and retailers remain open, while stock markets generally stay open as well. However, the government debt trade in the U.S. Bond markets and most banks are closed on federal holidays. Federal offices are also closed on these holidays, meaning federal workers get a paid day off. One of the 11 official federal holidays is the presidential inauguration, which occurs every four years and affects federal workers in the surrounding areas of the District of Columbia.
Since the 1860s, Juneteenth has been commemorated locally in Texas, but it officially became a state holiday in 1980. Texas is unique in this regard, as it is both the birthplace of the holiday and is also recognized as Emancipation Day. It was not until 2020 or later that most states included Juneteenth as a public holiday on their calendars.
President Joe Biden approved the bill in June 2021, officially establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday. The recognition of Juneteenth significantly increased in 2020 following widespread demonstrations across the country in response to the fatal incidents involving George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other African Americans.
Even states that do not include Juneteenth in their official list of public holidays have, at some stage, enacted a resolution acknowledging Juneteenth as a day of observance. Recognizing Juneteenth as a day of observance means that it is observed, although it does not necessarily entail a day off.
In 2022, it transformed into a compensated vacation for state employees for the initial time; New Mexico has acknowledged Juneteenth as a state holiday since 2006, observed on the third Saturday of June. During the 1990s, Florida, Oklahoma, and Minnesota were the pioneering states outside Texas to honor Juneteenth as a day of remembrance. With the exception of Texas, all states that presently acknowledge Juneteenth as a national holiday commemorated it as a day of remembrance years prior to it being established as an authorized state holiday.
Juneteenth, an important date, is recognized formally in the last states of Hawaii and both North and South Dakota. Although it was not observed as a state holiday in South Dakota until 2020, the governor proclaimed it as a holiday. On the other hand, Juneteenth has not been considered a state holiday in North Dakota and Hawaii, but since 2022, it has been observed as a day of observance.
In honor of the day when Lincoln freed the enslaved people living in the District of Columbia, Emancipation Day is celebrated on April 16, almost nine months before the Proclamation of Emancipation. Additionally, Juneteenth has been declared an official paid holiday for city workers in Phoenix, Los Angeles, New York, and other major cities across the United States, further cementing its recognition as a significant holiday.
Note: This is a revised version of a post initially published on June 17, 2022.