Juneteenth is one big step closer to becoming an official state holiday in Colorado after the state Senate approved the proposal on Monday.

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.

Senators passed Senate Bill 139 in a 32-1 vote, sending the bill to the state House of Representatives for consideration. This effort to recognize Juneteenth is led by three Black lawmakers: Aurora Democrat Sen. Janet Buckner and Denver Democrats Sen. James Coleman and Rep. Leslie Herod.

“Juneteenth represents how freedom and justice in the United States has always been delayed for Black people,” Buckner said during a press conference for the bill. “It’s an affirmation that, despite the most painful parts of our history, change is possible. And there is still so much work to do.” 

The only person who voted against the bill Monday was Sterling Republican Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg. Sonnenberg, who voted in support of the bill in committee, did not respond to requests for comment regarding Monday’s vote.

Sonnenberg previously raised issue with the bill’s safety clause – which states the legislation is needed to preserve public peace, health or safety. The bill sponsors said the clause was needed to ensure the bill would go into effect before this upcoming Juneteenth.

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. 

The bill comes eight months after Juneteenth National Independence Day was made a federal holiday – the first since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983 – and more than a year after the city of Denver established Juneteenth as an official city commemorative holiday.

If the bill is enacted, Juneteenth will be 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 This would be the first change to Colorado’s state holidays since 2020, when lawmakers repealed Columbus Day, replacing it with Frances Xavier Cabrini Day.