Today is Juneteenth, the newest federal holiday. All federal, state, and county offices will be closed as will the financial markets and most banks. There will be no mail delivery.
Some cities will observe the holidays, but not Chadron. City Hall and the Public Library will be open and Chadron Public Transit will run its normal schedule. The Chadron City Council will hold its regular meeting at 6:00.
Juneteenth, officially Juneteenth National Independence Day, was signed into law by President Joe Biden in June 2021 and eventually enacted by all 50 states. South Dakota was last in February of last year..
Juneteenth marks what many consider the end of slavery in the United States. While the Emancipation Proclamation had freed all slaves in the Confederate States on Jan 1, 1863, it was enforced area by area as Union forces conquered the South.
The last state to surrender was Texas and on June 19, 1865, military governor Major General Gordon Granger issued an order in Galveston clearly stating the end of slavery.
The anniversary celebration began in Texas and spread to other southern states, but didn’t come to national prominence until the last few years.