The annual celebration of Juneteenth on June 19, which commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans across the United States, is an observed holiday for Michigan courts, banks and most public government functions.
The recognition of Juneteenth by American institutions is a recent tradition.
The push to celebrate Juneteenth as a “day-off” holiday happened after the racial justice movement in 2020. President Joe Biden in 2021 signed legislation marking Juneteenth (June 19) as the 12th federal holiday. It was America’s first new federal holiday created since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.
In Michigan, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation three years ago, Act 215 of 2023, officially placing Juneteenth on the state’s list of holidays.
“Michigan’s story is incomplete without the legacy of Black Michiganders,” Whitmer said earlier this month on social media. “As we gear up to celebrate Juneteenth later this month, let’s all take time to recognize and honor the countless contributions of Black Michiganders who have made our state what it is today.”
In 2023 when she signed the legislation into law, Whitmer said Juneteenth is a moment of celebration and reflection, “but it’s also an opportunity to recommit ourselves to action.”
The city of Detroit, the largest majority Black city in the U.S., has for years offered Juneteenth as a paid city holiday.
Juneteenth commemorates the June 19 order from Union Major General Gordon Granger, who told African American slaves in Texas that the Confederate Army surrendered and that President Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
The legislation to create a judicial and bank holiday in Michigan was comprised of Senate Bill 50 and House Bill 4722. Detroit state Sen. Sylvia Santana introduced the Senate bill, while Detroit state Rep. Helena Scott introduced the House version of the bill.
“This is another major milestone as we work in our state and our nation to tackle our history head on and better acknowledge, recognize, and in this case, celebrate the diverse experiences of all cultures and races,” Santana said in 2023. “I appreciate the widespread, bipartisan support of this bill and the progress and awareness of Juneteenth that it illustrates, and I will keep looking for ways to find common ground to make a Michigan a more inclusive state for all.”
Whitmer’s administration has touted its efforts to address the racial gaps in health care and education. They also have championed Sen. Sarah Anthony’s (D-Lansing) Senate Bill 90, also known as the CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Act. protects Michigan residents from discrimination in the workplace based on wearing their natural hair. Whitmer signed that bill into law in June 2023.
Democratic leaders in the state have been able to increase the number of students eligible for free community college, require implicit bias training as part of the knowledge and skills necessary for the renewal of licenses and registrations of health professionals in Michigan, and have banned discrimination based on natural hairstyles.
However, prison reform advocates and police accountability activists say state leaders must do more. The failure to pass meaningful police accountability bills under a Democratic controlled government was disappointing to progressive advocates in Detroit. Bipartisan proposals have been stalled in legislative committees. Under a Republican controlled House, those measures won’t pass.
“Second Look” reforms that would allow courts to re-evaluate sentencing after inmates serve a certain amount of time in prison are also stalled under Republican control.
