Jun. 18, 2020
HARRISBURG – On Friday, June 19, 2020, Pennsylvania celebrates Juneteenth National Freedom Day for the first time as an officially recognized state holiday.
House Bill 619, authored by Rep. Sue Helm (R-Dauphin/Lebanon), was passed by the governor last summer to officially designate the holiday.
“I am enormously proud and thankful to have authored the legislation that officially recognized the holiday, and I hope that it will further spread awareness and knowledge of the important events on that historic day,” said Helm.
Juneteenth National Freedom Day commemorates the day in 1865 when the final remaining slaves were freed in Galveston, Texas. This was two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
“By celebrating Juneteenth, we are celebrating a holiday just as important as the Fourth of July or Memorial Day,” Helm added. “For without the end of slavery, the United States of America would not have been possible.”
For more information on Helm and her legislative priorities, please visit
RepHelm.com or
Facebook.com/RepHelm.
Representative Sue Helm
104th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Kevin DiGuiseppe
717.260.6419
kdiguiseppe@pahousegop.com
RepHelm.com /
Facebook.com/RepHelm