RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has announced he'll propose making Juneteenth an official holiday in a state that once was home to the capital of the Confederacy. Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. It is also called Emancipation Day. and is celebrated annually on June 19. The date commemorates June 19, 1865, when news finally reached African Americans in Texas that President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves living in Confederate states two years earlier. Tuesday's announcement comes days after Northam announced he was ordering the removal of a towering statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond.
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Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam listens as he prepares to speak to a group of volunteers to distribute supplies at health equity community event Tuesday May 12, 2020, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
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