Juneteenth observed as federally recognized holiday for the first time

Residents across the nation are honoring Juneteenth this weekend, marking the first year that it is a federally recognized holiday.
President Joe Biden signed a measure into law Thursday to recognize the holiday that marks the end of slavery in the nation and to commit to ending systemic racism.
An order from the National Archives shows that on June 19, 1865, a major general with the Union rode into Galveston, Texas, and told slaves they'd been freed more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Since that time, Juneteenth has become the oldest known U.S. celebration of the end of slavery.
Martin Bunky Reid Park in New Cassel is prepared to welcome people Saturday for a Juneteenth celebration.
Theresa Sanders, the president of the Urban League of Long Island and a history professor at SUNY Old Westbury, will be a guest speaker at the event.
She says, “It's not just a day off, it's not just some gathering of the families and barbecues and all that, while we can commemorate it that way, it's also important in the context of those activities to talk about the history.”
Hempstead-based civil rights attorney Fred Brewington says the damage from slavery still exists today.
"The disparities in housing, in education, in health care…when you start to look at those, we then start to deal with those things that allowed to pull people back from succeeding and being the best that they can be,” Brewington says.
Sanders says now that Juneteenth is a federal holiday, she hopes conversations about how to correct racial inequality go beyond talk.
"People don't get mad, they don't feel shamed about what happened years ago, let's move forward, let's talk about how do we build this ecosystem so that we're all going to benefit as people, as human beings on this earth,” she says.
North Hempstead Town Supervisor Bosworth Judi Bosworth says, “We are proud to be hosting our Juneteenth celebration at Bunky Reid Park. This marks the first year Juneteenth is being recognized as an official holiday in New York State and in North Hempstead. We join together with the community in acknowledging the injustices from slavery, reflecting on the meaning of freedom, and continuing to work for equality for all.”