Juneteenth Keystone

Juneteenth… is it a national holiday?
No, not yet.

Until yesterday, five states had not yet marked the day as a state holiday or observance. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, I was unnerved to learn that the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania had yet to mark the day.

It was to my relief and satisfaction (ha- I am sure the governor is quite relieved to have my approval) that yesterday, Gov. Tom Wolf officially recognized Juneteenth, to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States.

That leaves just four states that don’t recognize the holiday: Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana.

The US Senate passed a resolution last year recognizing “Juneteenth Independence Day” as a national holiday, but it has not yet been approved in the House. The National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, an organization based in Mississippi, has worked for years to get Juneteenth recognized or observed as a national holiday.