HI SCR189

Hawaii State Legislature recognizes Juneteenth National Freedom Day on June 19 of each year.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, and California learned of their freedom following the Thirteenth Amendment's passage on January 31, 1865.

The resolution acknowledges Juneteenth as the oldest African-American holiday observance in the United States, also known as Emancipation Day or Freedom Day.

The resolution provides historical context on slavery, the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the delayed arrival of freedom news to enslaved people in western states.