People in Duluth have been celebrating Juneteenth for 15 years now, according to the city's Human Rights Officer. Carl Crawford explained, "It also marks the beginning of family reunions, for many families of African American heritage. It's the time we all gather."

June 19, 1865, which is now 156 years ago, slaves in Texas were finally freed. They found out more than two years after Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was issued. 

"I'm excited," Crawford said. "Now it's time to correct the history books, and show that not all African Americans were emancipated right away."

He said we need to keep having these conversations, which sparked anew after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

"It's my hope that people keep this holiday sacred, and it doesn't become bombarded as a special sales event," Crawford added.

Since this always falls around Grandma's Marathon weekend, he suggested maybe they could work together with the marathon and include Juneteenth in the celebrations somehow. "We have runners from all over the world, who could see how we celebrate," he said.

U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) was at the White House to witness President Biden sign into law her legislation to commemorate Juneteenth as a federal holiday.
 
The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act—led by Sen. Smith and her colleagues Sens. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas)—passed the Senate unanimously on Tuesday. The identical House measure, led by U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), passed Wednesday.

Wisconsin Congressman Tom Tiffany voted against the Juneteenth Act. In a statement, he said, “Once again, House Democrats have used their majority to balkanize our country and fuel separatism by creating a race-based ‘Independence Day.’ There is only one Independence Day in America, just as there is only one National Anthem, one American flag and one America – under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
 

To see the original story and read related reporting, follow the link to the WDIO-Tv website. https://www.wdio.com/news/juneteenth-duluth-carl-crawford-national-holiday/6145086/?cat=10335