(AP/WMOT) -- It looks like Juneteenth will soon be recognized as a federal holiday. The commemoration of the end of slavery is already an officially recognized holiday here in Tennessee.
The U.S. Senate yesterday passed a bill that would make Juneteenth a national holiday. The bill is expected to easily pass the U.S. House to become the 12th federal holiday.
Juneteenth commemorates when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free. Union soldiers brought them the news two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York says making Juneteenth a federal holiday is a “major step forward to recognize the wrongs of the past."
The vast majority of states already recognize Juneteenth as a holiday or observance.Juneteenth was recognized as a special day of remembrance by the Tennessee General Assembly earlier this year.
Visit this link for a list of some two dozen Juneteenth events planned all across Nashville.