PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem has declared Friday a holiday for state workers in honor of Juneteenth.
Noem said her decision is in response to legislation signed Thursday by President Joe Biden establishing a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery.
It’s meant to remember June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas.
That was about 2 1/2 years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the Southern states.
Noem says she “hopes state employees take the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful South Dakota weather on their day off.”
Noem had previously announced Saturday’s Juneteenth as South Dakota’s “Juneteenth Day” as a proclamation.
However, a press release issued from Noem’s office did not say whether or not Juneteenth will be a holiday for state employees in 2022.
Hawaii on Wednesday became the 49th state to officially recognize Juneteenth when the governor signed legislation, leaving South Dakota as the lone holdout.
