The Oregon House will vote Tuesday on a bill that would make Juneteenth, the day celebrating the true end to slavery in the United States, a legal holiday in the state.
The bill, House Bill 2168, was introduced at the request of Gov. Kate Brown.
Juneteenth commemorates the day -- June 19, 1865 -- when the enslaved people in Galveston, Texas were told they were free. Two months earlier, on April 9, Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant after the Battle at Appomattox Courthouse.
Black Portlanders have long hosted celebrations to mark the occasion. In the wake of the killing of George Floyd and nationwide protests demanding racial justice, Juneteenth has gained wider popularity.
In testimony in support of the bill, Marsha Peoples Jack of Portland spoke about her mother, Clara Peoples.
“My mom, Mrs. Peoples, introduced Portland to Juneteenth while working at the shipyards in 1945,” Peoples Jack said. “This is a day of celebration, engaging, learning, coming together of communities and diversity.”
“The city of Portland recognized Juneteenth celebrations in 1972 and each year, Mrs. Peoples organized a celebration in North/Northeast Portland with entertainment and a parade,” Peoples Jack said.
In 2019, four years after Peoples died, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler declared Juneteenth would be recognized as a holiday in Portland, Peoples Jack said.
“It would be a total dream come true” for her mother, she said, if the bill to make it a legal holiday at the state level passes.
-- Lizzy Acker
503-221-8052, lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker
The Link LonkMarch 30, 2021 at 03:58AM
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Oregon House to vote Tuesday on bill to make Juneteenth a state holiday - OregonLive
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