14 Republicans vote against making Juneteenth 'National Independence Day' federal holiday: GOP Reps say Americans will now have to 'choose' between June 19 and July 4 based on 'racial identity'
The House of Representatives has voted to make Juneteenth federal holiday to mark the end of slavery.
Fourteen House Republicans voted against the measure for June 19 to become a 'National Independence Day' because it would create 'confusion' between Independence Day on July 4.
Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie said: 'I fully support creating a day to celebrate the abolition of slavery.
'However, naming this day National Independence Day will create confusion and push Americans to pick one of those two days as their Independence Day based on their racial identity.'
Massie said he would rather it be called 'Emancipation Day'.
The measure cleared the Senate by unanimous consent Tuesday after a Republican in the chamber ended his objection. With the House passing it in a 415-14 vote, the bill now heads to President Joe Biden for his signature.
It's not clear what the timeline will be on Biden signing the legislation.
Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana said an effort by the left' to push 'identity politics'.
'Let's call an ace an ace,' the lawmaker said on Wednesday. 'This is an effort by the left to create a day out of whole cloth to celebrate identity politics as part of its larger efforts to make 'critical race theory' the reigning ideology of our country.
'Since I believe in treating everyone equally, regardless of race, and that we should be focused on what unites us rather than our differences, I will vote 'no''.
Texas Rep. Chip Roy agreed with Massie that the days should be called 'Emancipation Day' and said the new holiday is going to be seen as conflicting' with July 4.
'It's been referred to in our history as Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, Freedom Day. I would be amenable to any of those names. I don't believe that the title National Independence Day, I think, works.
People participate in a march in Brooklyn for both Black Lives Matter and to commemorate the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth on June 19, 2020 in New York City
Thousands of people participate in a march for Black Lives Matter and to commemorate the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth in New York City last June
Texas Rep. Ronnie Jackson told USA Today the country already had 'enough' national holidays.
Most US states recognize Juneteenth as a holiday or officially observe the day, but the bill passed by Congress would make Juneteenth the 12th US federal holiday -- and the first new one in 38 years.
The commemoration has taken on renewed resonance over the past year with millions of Americans confronting the country's living legacy of racial injustice.
'Juneteenth is as significant to African Americans as it will be to Americans because we too are Americans, and it means freedom,' House Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee told her colleagues, describing slavery as 'America's original sin.'
Juneteenth National Independence Day is commemorated on June 19 to celebrate the day in 1865 when the last enslaved African Americans learned that they were free.
A Union Army general in Galveston, Texas -- where president Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of 1862 had yet to be enforced nearly three years later -- announced that slavery was abolished in Texas and across the country.
'This day reminds us of a history much stained by brutality and injustice, and it reminds us of our responsibility to build a future of progress for all, honoring the ideal of equality that is America's heritage, and America's hope,' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
Lawmakers broke into applause and cheers when the bill passed.
Jackson Lee, who represents a Texas district, and the state's senior US Senator John Cornyn, a Republican, will be in Galveston on Juneteenth to mark the historic occasion.
The bill is sponsored by Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward Markey and had 60 co-sponsors. Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee were other leaders in the effort.
Demonstrators arrive at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial during a Juneteenth march in Washington, DC on June 19, 2020
'This day reminds us of a history much stained by brutality and injustice, and it reminds us of our responsibility to build a future of progress for all, honoring the ideal of equality that is America's heritage, and America's hope,' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said
'There's no better time than the present, particularly given the strife we've seen, the level of distrust, for example, between law enforcement and the communities they serve, than to acknowledge our nation's history and to learn from it,' Cornyn told reporters.
'Acknowledging and learning from the mistakes of the past is critical to making that progress and becoming a more perfect union.'
Texas made Juneteenth a state holiday in 1980, with every state except South Dakota officially commemorating the holiday in some capacity since.
Democrats and Republicans have struggled to unite on legislative issues in recent months and years, with political divisions impacted by debates over race, immigration and other social issues.
On Twitter Tuesday, many celebrated the progress being made towards declaring Juneteenth as a national holiday.
'Juneteenth should absolutely be a federal holiday,' tweeted Kentucky State Rep. Charles Booker.
Other people, however, expressed conflicted feelings about the holiday receiving federal recognition.
'I have mixed feelings about making Juneteenth a federal holiday. It's probably a good thing, but I refuse to get too excited about something that doesn't fundamentally change the status quo. A game changer is passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act,' said former Speaker of the Colorado House Terrance Carroll.
'So the senate passed the bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday but they still haven't made lynching a federal hate crime? Got it,' said another person.
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