Biden signed bill making Juneteenth a national holiday

President Biden signed into law a bill creating a federal holiday to commemorate Juneteenth, the day marking the end of slavery in Texas.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2021

Juneteenth is the portmanteau of June and nineteenth and is recognised as a state holiday in 47 US states.

The day is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the US and is observed on June 19.

It is also known as Emancipation Day or Juneteenth Independence Day.

Juneteenth will be the first new federal holiday created in almost four decades, and will now enjoy the same status as the 10 existing annual holidays, which include Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving.

The last such holiday – Martin Luther King Jr. Day – was created in 1983, in honour of the civil rights hero.