In order to create a federal holiday it must pass congress. It must pass the House and the Senate. The bill for Juneteenth to become a federal holiday was presented to Congress. The bill passed the Senate unanimously and in the House {415 to 14}, 14 republicans voted against it. This is a glowing example of how bipartisanship is supposed to work in this United States of America. The Biden administration simply did not have the authority to opt to declare Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Those who dislike Juneteenth must blame congress not the Biden administration. I applaud congress for their patriotic actions.

When Abraham Lincoln was president, the Republican Party did not have the values of the present Republican Party. In Lincoln’s day, the republicans actually had the values of the present day democrats. Whenever right is practiced, we should celebrate. Slavery would not have ended without the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War. The Confederacy simply did not want to give up slavery. Texas had a difficult time obeying the law.

Juneteenth is not a holiday only for Blacks. It is a celebration for all. Black History is World History. It is a time for the abolitionists to see right reign, the slave owners to repent, and the ex -enslaved community to finally live, really live.

We should celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation, Amendment 13, and Juneteenth. We are celebrating democracy, righteousness, and freedom for all. Martin Luther King said it and it applies here, “Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere. Justice delayed, is justice denied.” Scholarly historians know that slavery was the cause of the Civil War. Some historians refer to the Civil War as the Great Slave Uprising.

Darlene C. Derbigny