Alveda King, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece, is calling for Juneteenth to become a nationally recognized holiday.
In observation of Juneteenth, King has released an op-ed published by Fox News on Friday where she declared, “This might be the year Juneteenth gets the respect it deserves.”
As the fight against police brutality and systemic racism continues, Juneteenth has garnered more mainstream attention than it has in recent years.
Two weeks before the holiday, President Donald Trump initially scheduled his campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma for June 19.
Due to heightened backlash over the observation of the holiday, Trump was asked to change the date, which he ultimately did. According to King, this sheds more light on the holiday.
“Now Juneteenth is on the national radar, and that’s a good thing. All of us can stand to brush up on our history and this date is too important to be forgotten,” King wrote. “Some major companies, like the NFL and Nike, are making it a formal holiday.”
Noting that most states had already begun to recognize Juneteenth, it still appears to be a holiday many Americans are not knowledgeable of, she says.
“Texas declared Juneteenth an official state holiday in 1980 and now, 46 states and the District of Columbia have some kind of observances,” King said. “But somehow, the holiday remained a well-kept secret.”
Now, King hopes that will change. Noting the mass removals of Confederate elements across the U.S., King believes it is a befitting time to make Juneteenth “a national holiday.”
“I think it’s time to go further and make it a national holiday. Statues of Confederate generals and racist officials are being toppled all over the country,” King wrote, adding, “But we can never erase our painful past with regard to slavery.”
King’s call comes amid the 155th celebration of Juneteenth. On June 19, 1865, the last group of slaves were freed which signaled the end of slavery in the United States.
