Juneteenth 2023: More than half of states recognizing it as official public holiday
Many Americans are celebrating Juneteenth, marking the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free.
For generations, Black Americans have recognized the end of one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history with joy, in the form of parades, street festivals, musical performances or cookouts.
The U.S. government was slow to embrace the occasion — it was only in 2021 that President Joe Biden signed a bill passed by Congress to set aside Juneteenth, or June 19th, as a federal holiday.
RELATED: Juneteenth 2023: What’s open and closed on Monday for the federal holiday
States are still trickling in to observe the holiday on a local level, with more than half recognizing Juneteenth as a public holiday this year – which means state government offices are closed and state workers have a paid day off.
Here’s where Juneteenth is a paid day off:
- Alabama
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- Ohio
- Oregon
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- Washington, D.C.
- West Virginia
RELATED: What is Juneteenth? The history of the newest federal holiday and how to celebrate
Pew Research Center analyzed state human resources websites, state legislation and news articles to gather the information.
This story was reported from Detroit. The Associated Press contributed.