U.S. President Joe Biden is set to sign into a law Thursday the creation of a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.Juneteenth National Independence Day will be observed each year on June 19.The holiday marks the day in 1865 when Union soldiers informed a group of enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, of their freedom, 2½ years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.Many U.S. states already have Juneteenth as a holiday.It joins 10 other federal holidays and is the first added since Martin Luther King Jr. Day became a holiday in 1983.The legislation to create the holiday arrives at Biden’s desk after receiving approval through unanimous consent in the Senate on Tuesday and passing the House of Representatives in a 415-14 vote on Wednesday. What Is Juneteenth?VOA explains why June 19 is an important date in America’s history
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