~~2024 will be the first year of the state holiday~~
Topeka — Governor Laura Kelly joined the Kansas African American Affairs Commission to celebrate Juneteenth at the Statehouse today. This is the first year Juneteenth is being observed as a state holiday.
“Juneteenth is a time to celebrate the progress we’ve made and acknowledge the ongoing struggle for racial equality,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Kansas people have long looked back at this turning point in our nation’s history, and observing Juneteenth as a state holiday provides time for self-reflection.”
Governor Kelly has declared Juneteenth a state holiday in October 2023 and has issued proclamations to recognize Juneteenth each year since 2020. In observance of the holiday, state offices of the Executive Branch will be closed under Governor Kelly’s authority on Wednesday, June 19, 2024.
“The path to making Juneteenth a state holiday was paved long before me,” said Stacey Noel, executive director of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission. “I know many advocates, legislators and Kansas Citians have been striving for this recognition. I’m glad it has become a reality.”
Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19, 1865, the day the last enslaved Americans received notice that President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation to end slavery more than two years earlier. In 2021, Juneteenth became the first federal holiday created in more than 40 years.
Photos from today’s event are available below for media use.
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