Kansas has a new state holiday.
Governor Laura Kelly announced Juneteenth as a new state holiday Tuesday. This means Kansas joins 28 other states and the District of Columbia in celebrating the holiday, which denotes the last day enslaved Americans were told about the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery in 1865.
Kelly says having Juneteenth as a state holiday offers residents a chance to “celebrate our state’s diversity and honor the ongoing struggles for racial equality.”
Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, the first federal holiday in over 40 years. Neighboring states like Colorado, Missouri and Nebraska have already established Juneteenth as state holidays.
