A bill to establish Juneteenth as an official Alabama state holiday has advanced in the state legislature, sponsored by Republican Rep. Rick Rehm. This move comes after Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Juandalynn Givan, had pushed unsuccessfully for similar legislation in the past. The bill has four Republican cosponsors and would make Juneteenth, which celebrates the end of slavery in the United States, a state holiday on June 19.
Givan had previously sponsored a compromise bill that combined Juneteenth with Jefferson Davis Day, in an effort to get the holiday recognized. However, Rep. Rehm deemed that bill “unworkable and undoable.” Givan has now filed another bill this year to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday, but it has yet to be heard in committee, while Rep. Rehm’s version has moved forward.
During a committee meeting, Givan became visibly upset and left the room in frustration before the bill was approved for a favorable report. Rep. Rehm stated that he felt sympathetic to Givan’s frustrations, but believed that as a white man carrying the bill, he had a better chance of getting it passed by the majority caucus.
Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 when Union General Gordon Granger declared the last remaining slaves in Texas to be free, despite Lincoln’s previous Emancipation Proclamation in 1862. The bill to make Juneteenth a state holiday now moves on to the House floor for further consideration.
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