We are contacting members of the South Carolina Senate to ask for their support for S.0003 and H.3035, bills to designate Juneteenth, June 19th, as a state holiday.

Juneteenth commemorates the day enslaved people in Galveston, Texas found out they were free by means of the Emancipation Proclamation delivered by Andrew Jackson. The day is of great significance and celebration for all in our country, as we strive for progress in the name of equality. Moving Juneteenth’s resignation from a “special day” to an official state holiday would be a tribute to the many African Americans who paved the way for South Carolina to exist as it does today and allow businesses and schools to close and observe the holiday.

There is no better way to honor the lives of those countless men and women than to advocate for Juneteenth to be a South Carolina state holiday.