Congress Approves Bill to Make Juneteenth a Federal Holiday

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States will soon have a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the nation.

The House passed a bill 415-14 on Wednesday that would make Juneteenth, or June 19th, a federal holiday. Juneteenth commemorates the day the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free.

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Confederate soldiers surrendered in April 1865, but word didn’t reach the last enslaved Black people until June 19, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to Galveston, Texas.

The bill now goes to President Joe Biden's desk, and he is expected to sign it into law.