Juneteenth state holiday bill passes Alabama House

Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, speaks during a debate on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on April 9, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)

The Alabama House of Representatives Thursday approved a bill that would make Juneteenth a state holiday, though unlike nearly every other state holiday it would not mandate that state offices close that day.

HB 4 , sponsored by Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, would add the June 19 holiday, which celebrates the end of slavery, to the current list of 13 days Alabama officially celebrates.

But employees would have to choose whether to take that holiday off  or Jefferson Davis’ Birthday, a state holiday marked on the first Monday in June.

“It is not a perfect deal, but it is one that will at least be put on the books that will declare Juneteenth as a state holiday,” Givan said.

The original bill did not require employees to make the choice choose between Juneteenth and the holiday celebrating Jefferson Davis, the former president of the Confederacy and a slaveholder who said Black Americans were “ fitted expressly for human servitude. ”  The bill was amended on the floor, making the legislation identical to a bill introduced by Rep. Chris Sells, R-Greenville.

Givan  said on the House floor Thursday that a compromise was reached with Republicans after concerns were expressed about adding an additional holiday.

Rep. Rick Rehm, R-Dothan, walks to a seat at an event at the Alabama State Capitol on March 21, 2024 in Montgomery, Alabama. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)

Rep. Rick Rehm, R-Dothan, the only co-sponsor on Sells bill, said he was in “full support” of Givan’s bill as people in his district already celebrate Juneteenth. He said the bill solves the “divisiveness” about recognizing the holiday at a state level.

“I look at it, as a Republican, as a Republican holiday because the Emancipation Proclamation was presented by Abraham Lincoln, a Republican,” Rehm said.

Alabama Democrats have pushed in recent years to make Juneteenth an official holiday. During the 2023 session, Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, proposed a measure that added Juneteenth without affecting the other official holidays. Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, introduced a bill to replace Davis’ birthday with Juneteenth as an official holiday.

England said on the floor Thursday the bill was “an absolute struggle for me,” saying that he wanted to recognize Juneteenth but not a white supremacist like Davis.

“The compromise that is asking me to make is just difficult. And these are the sort of compromises that not all Americans have to make,” England said, adding that “Black Americans often have to accept really big compromises to get really small progress.”

England abstained on the vote.

Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, speaks during a committee meeting on Friday, July 21, 2023 in Montgomery, Ala. (Alabama Reflector Photo by Stew Milne)

Davis’ birthday is one of three state holidays in Alabama honoring the Confederacy, the white supremacist government formed to defend slavery that lost the American Civil War.

The state marks Confederate Memorial Day on the fourth Monday of April. The state marks Robert E. Lee’s Birthday on the third Monday in January, the same day as Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

President Joe Biden signed legislation in 2021 declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday, and in 2024, at least 25 states will celebrate the holiday and close state offices, according to the Pew Research Center .

The governors of Alabama and West Virginia have recognized the holiday, but no legislation makes it official. In California, state employees may observe the holiday in lieu of a personal holiday while in North Carolina, some state workers may elect to take it as a floating holiday.

Rep. Thomas Jackson, D-Thomasville, thanked Givan for  getting to the point of having a conversation about it. She said that he’s been advocating to make Juneteenth a state holiday for some years.

“We must love each one as brothers and sisters … I’m looking forward to that day,” Jackson said.

The bill moves to the Senate.

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