Hundreds turned out to Idlewild Park on Sunday to celebrate Juneteenth. Unlike past celebrations, however, the event was held just after Juneteenth became an official state holiday.
Music, art, vendors, family activities and plentiful food were at the city park.
Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo signed on June 8, 2023 a bill recognizing Juneteenth as a state holiday. The bill elevated the June 19 holiday from a day of observance to an officially recognized Nevada holiday.
That means state and local government employees get the day off, paid, along with New Years’ Day, Veterans Day, July 4, Labor Day, Nevada Day and Christmas.
President Joe Biden declared Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021.
“As the first state to ratify the 15th Amendment, which gave African Americans the right to vote, Nevada has a long and proud history of supporting civil rights,” said Democratic Assemblywoman Claire Thomas, one of the bill’s sponsors. “By designating Juneteenth as a state holiday, Nevada continues to honor that legacy and celebrate the progress that has been made in the fight for equality.”
Juneteenth is the commemoration of the freeing of slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865. It took more than two-and-a-half years from the time Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation for Union troops in the Civil War to arrive in Texas to enforce the decree.
The last reading took place in Galveston, Texas, which is where the Juneteenth celebration originated.
Sunday’s event was sponsored by the Northern Nevada Black Cultural Awareness Society.
