Juneteenth becomes a federal holiday
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event to mark the passage of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, in the East Room of the White House today in Washington.ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Joe Biden signs the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, in the East Room of the White House today in Washington. From left, Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif, Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., Opal Lee, Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., obscured, Vice President Kamala Harris, House Majority Whip James Clyburn of S.C., Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas.ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Joe Biden points to Opal Lee after signing the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, in the East Room of the White House, today.ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Joe Biden holds the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act after signing it in the East Room of the White House today.ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Joe Biden speaks with Opal Lee after he signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, in the East Room of the White House, today.ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Joe Biden hands a pen to House Majority Whip James Clyburn of S.C., after signing the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, in the East Room of the White House today in Washington.ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Joe Biden hands a pen to Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif, after signing the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, in the East Room of the White House today in Washington.ASSOCIATED PRESS
People take photos as Opal Lee holds a pen and is seated where President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, in the East Room of the White House, today.ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Joe Biden speaks with Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., after signing the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, in the East Room of the White House, today in Washington.ASSOCIATED PRESS
Usher speaks with Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., second from left, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., second from right, as they arrive for an event to mark the passage of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, in the East Room of the White House, today.ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Joe Biden speaks during an event to mark the passage of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, in the East Room of the White House today in Washington.ASSOCIATED PRESS
From left, Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Tex., Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and members of the Congressional Black Caucus celebrate the passage of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act that creates a new federal holiday to commemorate June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people after the Civil War, at the Capitol in Washington today. It's the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created in 1983.