After 156 years of most white people ignoring it, Juneteenth becomes state holiday in IL
A day celebrating the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States is a state holiday in Illinois after more than 150 years without official recognition.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers told Black Americans in Galveston, Texas, they were free and the war was over, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people in secessionist states.
“Juneteenth is a time of celebration. Juneteenth is a time of telling our stories of hope,” said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, the state’s first Black woman to hold the position. “Juneteenth is a declaration of faith that despite chattel slavery, we will never stop fighting for freedom.”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation Wednesday making Juneteenth an official state holiday.
“It’s not a Black holiday. It’s an American holiday that we all must celebrate,” said state Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago. “The world is changing and people of all ages are talking about Juneteenth. Don’t you feel it?”
The celebration gained recognition among white Illinoisans in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and after the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus advocated for making Juneteenth a state holiday.
“Not enough understand what Juneteenth is about,” said House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Westchester, at a news conference in Springfield. “Juneteenth is America’s second Independence Day.”
While white Americans celebrate their independence on the Fourth of July, Welch said, it wasn’t always possible for Black Americans. So, they celebrated Juneteenth. State recognition of the holiday puts it in its “rightful place” in American history, said Doris Turner, D-Springfield.
“I just really wish my ancestral family was here to see how their celebration of freedom has grown to international significance,” Turner said.
Black Illinoisans faced racist codes that suppressed their freedoms for years even after slavery was outlawed. Into the 20th century, they faced white riots, massacres and lynchings in East St. Louis, Belleville, Springfield and elsewhere.
More work to be done
Speaking in front of a rare copy of the Emancipation Proclamation at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Black lawmakers also outlined work they say still needs to be done in Illinois to combat systemic racism.
Decades of police brutality, mass incarceration, wealth gaps and the pandemic “laid bare the longtime inequities” in housing, education and health care among Black Illinoisans, Stratton said. The Black Caucus passed much of their anti-racism agenda in 2021, addressing some of those issues despite opposition in particular to criminal justice reform and police accountability.
But prior to last year, few white Illinoisans were aware of Juneteenth at all because the holiday and the context around it weren’t taught in history classes, Ford said.
“I know everyone in this room has been in discussions about Juneteenth, and I know everyone in this room has heard people say, ‘I know nothing about Juneteenth,’ until recently,” Ford said. “And we don’t have to be ashamed of that because it’s our school systems that failed all of us, not just Black people, but also white people, brown people, have been miseducated in our school system.”
Part of the Black Caucus’ education law includes language to ensure education about Black history in Illinois.
Ford also said lawmakers need to continue to advocate for equality in the marijuana industry in the state. Black entrepreneurs are behind, Ford said, because the state failed to carry out a social equity program touted in the original legal pot legislation. None of Illinois’ pot shops are run by Black owners, Ford said.
The gathering in Springfield included multiple history-making lawmakers and officials.
Welch is the first Black speaker of the House. State Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, is the first Black Senate majority leader, and Christina Shutt is the first Black executive director of the Abraham Lincoln library and museum.
The copy of the Emancipation Proclamation is on display at the museum in Springfield through July 6.
The state will lower flags to half-staff on Saturday and the holiday flag will fly at the state Capitol. Juneteenth will be a paid holiday for state workers and public education employees when June 19 falls on a weekday.
The U.S. Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would make Juneteenth a national holiday. It goes to the House for consideration next and would need to be signed by President Joe Biden before becoming law.
This story was originally published June 16, 2021 at 12:59 PM.
