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Democratic lawmakers urge West Virginia to make Juneteenth official state holiday

Del. Hollis Lewis, center, urged Gov. Patrick Morrisey and the West Virginia Legislature to cement Juneteenth in law as a state holiday in a press conference at the State Capitol Building Thursday. Lewis was joined by House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, right, and Kanawha County Del. Mike Pushkin, left, the chairman of the West Virginia Democratic Party. (Photo by Steven Allen Adams)

CHARLESTON — Acknowledging the historical link between the end of Black slavery in the U.S. and the creation of the State of West Virginia, Democratic lawmakers urged their colleagues and Gov. Patrick Morrisey to make Juneteenth an official state holiday.

House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, and Del. Hollis Lewis, D-Kanawha – two of the West Virginia Legislature’s three Black members – held a press conference Thursday afternoon regarding Juneteenth, the final emancipation of Black slaves during the Civil War.

“This is more than just people of color – Black people,” Hornbuckle said. “It is very important that we understand what Juneteenth is. It is about having hope through uncertain times, courage to fight, strength, and resilience. What is more West Virginia than that? That is our story. And so, we, out of any state, need to be the ones that are recognizing that, because it’s our story.”

Morrisey issued a proclamation Wednesday commemorating Juneteenth and recognizing the end of slavery in the U.S.

“West Virginia has a proud founding as a free state during the Civil War and was built upon the principles of freedom and liberty,” Morrisey said in a statement. “Juneteenth is an important day in our nation’s history and serves as a reminder that all of us should be treated equally under the eyes of God and the law.”

President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which went into effect on Jan. 1 1863, freeing all slaves held in the Confederate States of America. But according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, many would remain enslaved in Confederate states until after the end of the Civil War.

Juneteenth celebrates the day – June 19, 1865 – when Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger marched 2,000 soldiers into Galveston, Texas, and officially emancipated Black slaves in that state. While celebrated in the Black community, Juneteenth saw a decline in the early 1900s as Jim Crow laws began to take hold, discriminating against Black citizens in southern states.

“Something happened, and around the 1900s, there was a setback and there wasn’t as many celebrations in our beautiful country,” Hornbuckle said. “There was the rise of segregation and racism. There was also a shift in our education system where they were no longer teaching about Juneteenth… Business owners stopped granting time off, again, to downplay the significance of Juneteenth and the freedom that we celebrate today.”

The annual event saw a resurgence in the 1960s with the Civil Rights movement. Juneteenth celebrations have become major events over the last few years. Congress passed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act in 2021, signed into law by former President Joe Biden, making Juneteenth a recognized federal holiday.

“On behalf of our caucus and the West Virginia Legislature, we want to commemorate and celebrate Juneteenth,” Hornbuckle said. “It is a special day that speaks to the very beautiful and story history of our country, but also our state.”

In West Virginia, Juneteenth has been recognized by previous governors through proclamations, beginning with former governor Earl Ray Tomblin in 2016. In 2021, former governor – now U.S. Senator – Jim Justice began making Juneteenth a paid holiday for state employees through his annual proclamations. But this year, the Governor’s Office declined to make Juneteenth a paid state holiday, citing fiscal burdens on taxpayers.

Lewis sponsored House Bill 5638 last year, which would have recognized Juneteenth as an official state holiday. The bill would have given state employees a paid day off, with the paid holiday falling on a Friday before June 19 if the day fell on a Saturday or Sunday.

The bill included a bipartisan group of cosponsors, but the House Government Organization Committee never placed the bill on its agenda, where it remained parked. Lewis called on Morrisey and the Legislature to consider making Juneteenth an official holiday next year.

“West Virginia deserves leadership that honors both our holistic history and our values,” Lewis said. “We cannot continue to ignore this holiday that celebrates the very principles in which our state was founded upon…The question isn’t whether we can afford to make Juneteenth a holiday; it’s whether we can afford not to.”

Juneteenth falls before another paid state holiday: the founding of West Virginia by Lincoln on June 20, 1863, less than six months after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. West Virginia was admitted into the Union as a free state following the creation of the Restored Government of Virginia in Wheeling in 1861 and the approval by that government in 1862 for the formation of the new State of West Virginia.

“West Virginia’s very existence intertwines with the principles of Juneteenth,” Lewis said. “When our ancestors were breaking away from Virginia in 1863, they did not merely do so over political differences, but also slavery, moral differences. The men and women who formed our state understood that freedom is not negotiable.”

Hornbuckle said the decision to not make Juneteenth a state holiday – combined with the signing of Senate Bill 474 in April, eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in the state; and questions regarding the future of the Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs – raises concerns that West Virginia could again begin diminishing the history and accomplishments of the Black community in the state.

“This is nothing personal against the governor. I very much respect the office, but there’s a good bit of education here,” Hornbuckle said. “When there was a decline in Juneteenth celebrations, when they were changing history and the teachings in the schools, they had people who were not granting time off when they did before. This is the playbook that’s going across the country to have things a certain way. We’re going to fight back respectfully, but it’s wrong…we’re not going to stand for it, and that’s why everyone is in here today.”

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.

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