New Jersey’s Governor Phil Murphy has signed legislation (S19), which designates the third Friday in June as a State and public holiday, known as Juneteenth Day.
“It gives me great pride to celebrate emancipation and New Jersey’s great diversity by designating Juneteenth as an official State holiday.” said Governor Murphy. “Commemorating this date is just one component of our collective approach to end a generational cycle of pain and injustice that has gone on for far too long. Every Juneteenth, we will celebrate the end of the physical chains which once held Black Americans down. While more work lies ahead to undo the oppression that remains, Juneteenth is important marker that reminds us of our mission to create a society that enables our Black communities to achieve the full equality which they deserve.”
Juneteenth commemorates the date in 1865 when news of the emancipation of African American slaves reached Galveston.