New Jersey is celebrating Juneteenth as a state holiday. But, once again, the date of the state holiday will differ from the federal holiday.
The holiday is named for the day Union troops arrived in the Confederate state of Texas to announce the end of slavery in 1865 after the end of the Civil War.
The federal holiday is celebrated on the date the announcement was made in Texas — June 19, which falls on Thursday this year. That means federal offices will be closed Thursday, there won’t be any mail delivery and many businesses will take the day off.
However, New Jersey will commemorate Juneteenth — and close all state offices and courts — on Friday. Some school districts will also be closed.
The reason? New Jersey officials recognized Juneteenth as a state holiday before the federal government did.
When New Jersey officials passed legislation establishing the state holiday, leaders decided it would be celebrated on the third Friday of June every year to make sure the holiday consistently fell next to a weekend.
That created a three-day Juneteenth weekend every June in New Jersey.
The law was pushed by former state Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Gov. Phil Murphy signed it into law September 2020.
The federal holiday was created the following year.
Former President Joe Biden signed the bill passed by Congress into law in 2021. Unlike New Jersey’s bill, it said Juneteenth would be celebrated as a federal holiday on June 19, unless the date falls on a weekend.
Before it became a federal and state holiday, Juneteenth was long recognized in the South and within communities of color. In the wake of 2020 protests over police accountability, there was renewed attention and calls for it to be enshrined as an official holiday.
Jelani Gibson may be reached at jgibson@njadvancemedia.com.
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