State government offices were closed on Monday in the first observance of Colorado’s newest official holiday. Juneteenth was recognized under legislation passed this spring and signed into law last month by Gov. Jared Polis.

The date is especially meaningful for Black Coloradans but should resonate with Coloradans and Americans of all races and ethnicities. It is, after all, about freedom – a core American value if ever there was one. That it took so long before Americans of African heritage were allowed to enjoy that freedom is of course one of the epic tragedies of American history – the result of a profound value debased and betrayed by flawed humans.

Juneteenth, sometimes called Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. June 19 – which fell on a Sunday this year and was observed officially on Monday- was the date that U.S. Civil War Major General Gordon Granger announced slaves in Texas were free in 1865. The announcement actually came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln had declared the end of slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation.

As The Gazette reported the other day, the holiday’s recognition by the state comes nearly 70 years after the first official Juneteenth celebration was held in Denver’s historic Five Points neighborhood, in 1953. Denver’s annual Juneteenth parade and music festival is one of the largest in the country. It draws around 50,000 people each year. It’s a point of pride worth noting that Denver also hosts one of the nation’s biggest Martin Luther King Jr. Day parades.

Juneteenth’s new status as a state holiday comes about a year after Juneteenth National Independence Day was made a federal holiday – the first since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983. And just this week, Denver’s City Council established Juneteenth as an official municipal holiday, which Denver City Hall will observe starting next year.

The state legislation recognizing the holiday was carried by three Black members of the General Assembly, state Sens. Janet Buckner of Aurora and James Coleman of Denver, and state Rep. Leslie Herod of Denver. At a ceremony last week to raise an official Juneteenth flag over the Colorado State Capitol Building, Buckner reflected on the day’s deep meaning.

“I was incredibly proud of the work we did this session to ensure Colorado properly recognizes Juneteenth,” Buckner said. “I know that it will help educate all Coloradans about the horrors of slavery, make space to celebrate the Black community, and lift up our ongoing work to make sure we don’t forget our past.”

It is our hope the day not only will continue to acknowledge one of history’s worst inhumanities – but also will remind all Coloradans, and all Americans, how far we have come. Our society is far from perfect with regard to race relations or myriad other concerns. Yet, it should inspire us all that so many Americans have learned to look past characteristics like race and see fellow human beings endowed with the same inalienable rights. Juneteenth helps all of us focus on that uplifting development, too.

Denver Gazette editorial board