Idaho recognizes Juneteenth

Jun. 18—Most state employees will get an unexpected vacation day today, after Idaho Gov. Brad Little issued a proclamation recognizing Juneteenth as a new state and federal holiday.

Little's action came shortly after President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. The act establishes June 19 as a new legal public holiday.

Since the holiday falls on a Saturday this year, state executive branch employees will observe it today.

The holiday "celebrates the end of slavery in the United States and is also known as Emancipation Day," Little noted in his proclamation.

"On June 19, 1865, Major Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery," the proclamation says. "Although the Emancipation Proclamation came more than two years earlier, on Jan. 1, 1863, many slave owners continued to hold their slaves captive after the announcement, so Juneteenth became a symbolic date representing African American freedom."

Little said the holiday also marks "a renewed, shared commitment to uniting as Americans to ensure that equality and opportunity are a reality for all Americans, in the present and the future."

Moscow Mayor Bill Lambert also declared that city offices will be closed today, in honor of the new holiday. However, all emergency police and fire services will continue business as usual, and the Hamilton Indoor Recreation Center and Hamilton Lowe Aquatic Center will remain open.

The Idaho Supreme Court also ordered all state courts to remain open today.

"Because of the short notice, Idaho's courts have already prepared dockets, people have been scheduled and summoned to courthouses, and there has been insufficient time to prepare for a non-judicial day," the order states.

Beginning next year, the court system will observe the holiday, as it does all other federal holidays.

Little said the governor's office will also remain open today "to assist agencies and members of the public."

Sponsored by Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday on a 415-14 vote. It passed the Senate on Tuesday by unanimous consent. It's the first new federal holiday created since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created in 1983.

Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.