Headline Roundup • June 19th, 2023
Celebrating Juneteenth 2023
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 that slaves in Galveston, Texas found out they had been freed, two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
Key Details: Juneteenth was designated a federal holiday in 2021, and is the newest federal holiday. At least 28 states and the District of Columbia recognize the day as a public holiday by closing government offices.
Key Quote: From President Joe Biden, in the White House Proclamation: "I call on every American to celebrate Juneteenth and recommit to working together to eradicate systemic racism and inequity in our society wherever they find it."
For Context: Efforts to make Juneteenth a federal holiday gained momentum amid discussions of racial injustice following the 2020 murder of George Floyd.
How the Media Covered It: Some left-rated sources featured the holiday as their top story on Monday and focused on growing awareness around the day. One Washington Post (Lean Left bias) writer said the holiday "observes the nation’s rebirth, its second founding." Right-rated sources highlighted coverage of the holiday less prominently. One writer for National Review (Right) argued that some people wrongfully think racial justice and abortion rights are linked, and said "the pro-abortion agenda and true racial justice — the sort of racial justice we celebrate on June 19 — couldn’t be more opposed."
Featured Coverage of this Story
Callaghan O'Hare/Reuters
Abortion solves none of the problems facing black families today. It isn’t justice, it’s death.
When we celebrate Juneteenth, we don’t just celebrate the end of slavery in America. We celebrate the beginning of black families living freely and safely. We celebrate the right of black Americans to build families — and, in doing so, to build futures. Post-Dobbs, it’s become popular to argue that racial justice and the right to abort preborn children are inextricably linked. But the pro-abortion agenda and true racial justice — the sort of racial justice we celebrate on June 19 — couldn’t be more opposed.
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Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
Two years after Juneteenth became the 11th federal holiday, more companies are giving their employees the day off and a growing number of states are recognizing it as a public holiday.
Driving the news: At least 28 states and Washington, D.C. are legally recognizing Juneteenth — a day celebrating Black emancipation from enslavement — as a public holiday this year with government offices closed, according to a Pew Research Center analysis.
Other states commemorate Juneteenth as a day of observance and cities across the country have also declared it an official paid holiday.
Context: Juneteenth...
Callaghan O’Hare | Reuters
For more than one-and-a-half centuries, the Juneteenth holiday has been sacred to many Black communities.
It marks the day in 1865 enslaved people in Galveston, Texas found out they had been freed — after the end of the Civil War, and two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
Since it was designated a federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth has become more universally recognized beyond Black America. Many people get the day off work or school, and there are a plethora of street festivals, fairs, concerts and other events.
People...
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