Juneteenth, the day commemorating the end of slavery in America, is now a state holiday in New Jersey as Gov. Phil Murphy finalized the development alongside Garden State-bred R&B star SZA — virtually, at least.
The Democratic governor held a live ceremony Thursday on Instagram to sign a bill into law establishing the third Friday in June as Juneteenth Day in New Jersey.
SZA, who was raised Solána Imani Rowe in Maplewood, joined online via a separate feed from New York City.
Juneteenth is not a federal holiday. And though all but three states commemorate it in some way, New Jersey is only the sixth to make it an official state holiday, with state government employees having a paid day off in honor.
“We are still in the first year in the fifth century since slavery came to our shores, the stain of racism lives on,” Murphy, who is white, said Thursday before signing the measure (S19). “This is an example of an action we can take. I think words matter, but we know that actions matter even more.”
SZA, who is Black, said the move is important to her because she’s a “direct descendant of slavery.”
“That is my family,” she said. “It is not even a past stain. “It is a current reality that we are living.”
On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers brought news of the Emancipation Proclamation to enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, and declared that all people held in slavery in the U.S. must be freed. It was two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the document.
The date gained added attention this year after the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota that sparked nationwide Black Lives Matter protests. A number of businesses, including Target, Twitter, and Uber, made Juneteenth company holidays this year. Massachusetts made it a state holiday in July.
State lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in July to approved the bill making it a state holiday in New Jersey.
The move will cost more than $3 million a year through increased increased overtime costs, according to a fiscal analysis of the bill. No cost estimate was available for local government employers.
Murphy and SZA also discussed racial disparity and injustice during their conversation Thursday. SZA said she had “the privilege of growing up in this bubble” in the Essex County suburbs, where the majority of kids were white but she had “a pretty integrated experience.”
“I think Maplewood was kind of a petri dish for a prototype of acceptance," the singer said. “I feel like Jersey is an open opportunity to bridge those gaps.”
“I think Maplewood, South Orange, Jersey as a whole just has so much potential to be this amazing resting place for diversity and growth and learning,” she added. “I’m just grateful to be from here.”
SZA, who now lives in California, said she’s been in the area to visit her mother, who still lives in New Jersey.
“I love New Jersey,” she said. "I’m obsessed with being here. I can’t even get back to L.A.”
Murphy said told her “we’re gonna try to find some way to keep you here.”
“You don’t have to try,” SZA said with a smile. “I’m not in a rush to get back to California."
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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.
The Link LonkSeptember 11, 2020 at 08:33AM
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SZA joins governor as N.J. makes Juneteenth a state holiday - NJ.com
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