Juneteenth: Which states recognize it as a paid holiday?
- Juneteenth marks the official end of slavery in the U.S.
- It became a federal holiday in 2021
- Nineteen states had no official provision for the holiday last year
FILE – Julien James carries his son, Maison, 4, holding a Pan-African flag to celebrate during a Juneteenth commemoration at Leimert Park in Los Angeles Saturday, June 18, 2022. Many Americans are celebrating Juneteenth, marking the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in the U.S. learned they were free. For generations, Black Americans have recognized the end of one of history’s darkest chapters with joy, in the form of parades, street festivals, musical performances or cookouts. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
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(NewsNation) — A handful of states don’t recognize Juneteenth as a paid holiday despite its designation as a federal holiday.
Juneteenth — marking the end of slavery in the United States — is designated a permanent state holiday in most states, according to a 2023 Pew Research analysis. Nineteen states didn’t have an official provision last year for the historic event. They include Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming, according to Pew.
Some states have recognized Juneteenth in the past or opt to celebrate the end of slavery in a different way.
In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a proclamation recognizing the holiday in 2020, but not since. Florida does recognize the day slavery ended in the state, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. The event is marked as Emancipation Day and celebrated in May, though it isn’t a paid holiday.
Florida also joins Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas in commemorating some Confederate holidays throughout the year, a separate Axios analysis found.
Mississippi and Alabama, for example, each celebrate three confederate holidays as paid days off for state employees, including Robert E. Lee Day, Confederate Memorial Day and Jefferson Davis’ Birthday, according to Axios.
