Congress and President Joe Biden acted with unusual swiftness in the week in approving Juneteenth as a legal holiday . That shifted the battle to the states, where the vacation faces a far less enthusiastic response.
Nearly all states recognize Juneteenth in some fashion, a minimum of on paper. But most are slow to maneuver beyond proclamations issued by governors or resolutions gone by lawmakers. So far, a minimum of nine states have designated it in law as a politician paid state holiday — Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia and Washington. about Texas, where the events of the first Juneteenth happened , acted after the killing of George Floyd last year.
This year alone, legislation to form Juneteenth a paid state holiday died in Florida and South Dakota and stalled in Ohio, all states controlled by Republicans. But even in Maryland, where Democrats control the Legislature, a Juneteenth bill passed one chamber only to die within the other.
The effort recalls the drawn-out battles over recognizing Luther King Jr. Day, the last time the federal designated a replacement holiday. That legislation, finally passed in 1983, scheduled the vacation to start three years later. It depart bitter debates within the states over whether to enact their own holidays.
Only a couple of states headed into Thursday's signing of the federal Juneteenth law with the paid holiday on the books to be celebrated in 2021. The governors of Washington, Illinois, Louisiana and Maine, against this , all signed newer laws that were set to kick certain 2022, when June 19 falls on a Sunday.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards closed state offices for a half-day Friday, only a couple of days after he signed Juneteenth legislation, and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker was among governors who changed their states' start dates to 2021.
In another twist, many nations have laws that automatically recognize all federal holidays — even those not named in state statute.
Such was the case in Ohio, where Republican Gov. Mike DeWine issued a Juneteenth statement late Thursday and closed state offices within the manner of a hastily called school snow day. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice also declared Juneteenth a state holiday at a last-minute virtual news conference . The governors of Connecticut and Florida issued their Juneteenth proclamations Friday.
Ohio state Sen. Hearcel Craig, a Columbus Democrat who is Black, said codifying Juneteenth in state law remains essential. he's sponsoring a bill that passed the Ohio Senate unanimously last session, but time ran out for consideration within the House. Republicans control both of Ohio's legislative chambers.
Georgia law caps the amount of state holidays at 12, meaning Juneteenth might be added as long as another holiday were dropped. In other states, including Oregon, whether Juneteenth becomes a paid holiday will depend upon union negotiations.
In Mississippi, Democratic state Rep. Bryant Clark has filed bills to form Juneteenth a state holiday for about 15 years. All have stalled.
Clark said Friday that he will keep trying. He noted that Mississippi legislators took four years to make a state holiday honoring King after the federal holiday was established. In 1987, Mississippi legislators revised a vacation named for Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that had been in situ for many years , creating a joint holiday honoring both Lee and King.
Two other Mississippi lawmakers said Friday that they decide to file a bill to eliminate Confederate Memorial Day as a state holiday and replace it with Juneteenth.
“Sometimes progress is extremely slow,” said Clark, a member of the Legislative Black Caucus. Several communities in Mississippi already hold Juneteenth celebrations. One is that the capital city of Jackson, where the population is quite 80% Black.
Minnesota has recognized the third Saturday in June as Juneteenth since 1996, but the statute only obligates the governor to issue a proclamation annually honoring the observance. That's a standard situation within the U.S., where the vacation is usually called Emancipation Day.
Calls by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, to form it a politician state holiday have did not gain traction thus far within the Legislature, the sole one within the nation where Democrats control one chamber and Republicans control the opposite .
Hawaii had been one among only three states left to not recognize the vacation in the least . A bill marking Juneteenth was signed there Wednesday and during a second holdout state, North Dakota , in April. Neither created a paid state holiday, however.
South Dakota still doesn't officially recognize the vacation , but Gov. Kristi Noem has issued a proclamation celebrating it. The governor doesn't have the facility to form it a politician state holiday — that has got to be done through the Legislature. A bill to acknowledge it as a working holiday fell a couple of votes in need of passing this year.
It was defeated by an unusual coalition of Democrats who felt the day should be recognized as a full-fledged holiday, instead of a working holiday, and conservative lawmakers who opposed recognizing the vacation in the least .
Vaney Hariri, a Black business owner who organized a march after Floyd’s death, said that vote showed the entrenched attitude of the many lawmakers who “would turn down each day off instead of celebrate your freedom from pain and captivity.”
In Tennessee, an effort to designate Juneteenth as a state holiday stalled last year after some Republican lawmakers raised questions on the $647,000 tag . Others questioned why it had been necessary when the state already recognizes Aug. 8 as Emancipation Day.
Arizona dragged its feet for years on Luther King Jr. Day, until it became the sole state that didn't have some kind of holiday inspired by the slain civil rights leader.
That long delay cost Arizona an excellent Bowl and many dollars in tourism revenue from canceled conventions and other events. It also inspired a boycott by singer Stevie Wonder and a protest song by Public Enemy called “By the Time i buy to Arizona.”
Gov. Bruce Babbitt, a Democrat, issued an executive order in 1986 declaring Luther King Jr. Day a state holiday. Babbitt’s Republican successor, Evan Mecham, rescinded the order a year later, saying Babbitt exceeded his authority.
Mecham’s action led to years of divisive political maneuvering, including a ballot measure that led to defeat for King holiday supporters, before Arizona voters ultimately approved the vacation in 1992.
Warren H. Stewart Sr., pastor of the Institutional Baptist Church in Phoenix, helped lead a grassroots campaign to determine Arizona's King holiday. But he said he didn't rejoice when Biden signed the Juneteenth law. He fears it'll distract from legislation on vital issues like voting rights and police reform.
“I see it as a distraction," Stewart said, "almost as a handout of some candy, but the meat of justice remains getting to be denied.”
