A legislative effort to establish Juneteenth as an official state holiday in Colorado is gaining momentum, with Gov. Jared Polis announcing his support of the bill.

Juneteenth, also called Freedom Day and Emancipation Day, celebrates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. The holiday recognizes June 19, when Major General Gordon Granger announced slaves in Texas were free in 1865. This announcement came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln declared the end of slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation.

“Every day we’re working together to make real progress and moving toward a more perfect vision of what our state and our nation can be,” Polis said during a press conference Wednesday. “Juneteenth is an important part of that celebration.”

Senate Bill 139 is being led by three Black lawmakers: Aurora Democrat Sen. Janet Buckner, Denver Democrat Sen. James Coleman and Denver Democrat Rep. Leslie Herod.

The lawmakers said this is the first time legislation has been introduced to officially recognize Juneteenth in Colorado; however, local politicians and activists have been fighting for the holiday for years. SB-139 was brought forward as part of a new bargaining agreement between the state and the labor union Colorado WINS, Polis said. 

“It is refreshing to see progress,” said Tanesha McQueen with Colorado WINS during the press conference. “We can start to see the change we are fighting for. Now, instead of waiting for hopes to come true, it’s time to watch them come true.”

Coloradans have celebrated Juneteenth for decades, including through the annual Juneteenth parade and music festival in Denver’s historic Five Points neighborhood. The celebration is one of the largest in the country, attracting around 50,000 attendees each year, according to event organizers. Five Points’ first official Juneteenth celebration was held in 1953.

Just over one year ago, the city of Denver established Juneteenth as an official city commemorative holiday, joining Denver Day and Indigenous Peoples Day as the city’s only recognized commemorative holidays.

“The only thing we really wanted to do was assure that our community that was being displaced out of Five Points had a place to come back. Juneteenth served as a cultural anchor for our people of Denver,” said Norman Harris, who has been organizing the Five Point’s Juneteenth festival for 13 years. Norman said Juneteenth becoming a state holiday would be a “dream.”

Colorado’s effort comes eight months after Juneteenth National Independence Day was made a federal holiday, with President Joe Biden signing the bill in June 2021. All of Colorado’s congressional members voted in support of the federal bill, establishing the nation’s 12th federal holiday and the first since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.

If the bill passes, Juneteenth would become Colorado’s 11th state holiday, during which most schools and state services are closed. This would be the first change to Colorado’s state holidays since 2020, when lawmakers repealed Columbus Day, replacing it with Frances Xavier Cabrini Day.

“It’s time to reflect on what liberation truly means, what freedom really means and how it’s not easily accessible to everyone,” Herod said. “I want folks to celebrate the rich culture of Black people right here in Colorado. … I look forward to seeing how folks will celebrate even more once this holiday becomes a reality.”