Friday will mark the first time New Jersey celebrates its newest state holiday: Juneteenth, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.
That means many state agencies and courts will be closed, and many state workers will have off.
Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law in September making New Jersey the latest state to make Juneteenth a state holiday.
“While Juneteenth is celebrated to mark the end of slavery, we must use this day to take stock of where we are as a nation in achieving true equality for all Americans, especially the Black and Brown Americans who have lived with the vestiges of systemic racism,” Murphy said Wednesday.
Here’s what you need to know:
The day remembers June 19, 1865, when Gen. Gordon Granger and Union soldiers brought news of the Emancipation Proclamation to enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, and declared that all people held in slavery in the U.S. must be freed. They were the last slaves to learn of their freedom because Texas was a remote state.
The event happened more than a month after the end of the Civil War and about 900 days after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
Juneteenth has been celebrated for more than a century in parts of the U.S. But it gained added attention last year year after George Floyd’s death in Minnesota and the nationwide Blake Lives Matter protests that followed.
Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia have also made it a state holiday, while it’s an official observance in many other states.
“Imagine: The people Gen. Granger addressed didn’t even know they had been free for two and a half years,” Murphy said. “And for many Black and Brown Americans, that same feeling of justice delayed persists today.”
“We must endeavor to do more to ensure equal access to all aspects of society — education, health care, housing, jobs, justice — not just in our words but in our deeds,” the Democratic governor added. “That is what we must commit to on Juneteenth.”
WHEN WILL IT BE CELEBRATED IN N.J.?
Under the new law, Juneteenth Day in New Jersey will be the third Friday in June each year.
Dozens of events are planned to mark Juneteenth in the state.
Most state government employees get the day off, though some essential workers will work on overtime. It will apply only to state employees.
It’s up to local governments and private businesses whether to give their employees off.
WHAT WILL BE OPENED AND CLOSED?
The setup is similar to other state holidays. Most state government offices including the Motor Vehicle Commission and courts will be closed, though some essential services — such as the State Police — will remain open.
U.S. Post Offices will stay open because Juneteenth is not a federal holiday, and mail will be delivered.
It would be up to local county and town government offices and private businesses whether to close or remain open.
WHAT OTHER STATE HOLIDAYS ARE THERE IN N.J.?
New Jersey now observes 13 state holidays.
New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, Presidents Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Election Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day.
The holiday will cost New Jersey taxpayers more than $3 million a year through increased overtime costs, according to a fiscal analysis of the law.
IS JUNETEENTH A FEDERAL HOLIDAY?
Not yet, but likely soon.
Dozens of federal lawmakers — including U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. — introduced legislation last year to make a national Juneteenth Day. The U.S. Senate unanimously voted Tuesday to approve the measure.
“Juneteenth is one step closer to becoming a federal holiday,” Booker wrote on Twitter. “There is more work to do reckoning with and reconciling our past, but I’m grateful that the Senate has taken this important step.”
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill Wednesday. It now needs to be signed by the president to become law.
The measure would give all federal employees a day off on June 19 or on the following Friday or Monday near it.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.
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N.J. will celebrate Juneteenth as state holiday for the first time Friday. Here are the details. - NJ.com
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