Governor Laura Kelly announced that Kansas will designate Juneteenth as a state holiday, joining 28 other states and the District of Columbia. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day the last enslaved Americans received word that President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation to abolish slavery more than 2 years after the end of the Civil War. Governor Kelly has issued proclamations recognizing Juneteenth every year since 2020. In 2021, Juneteenth became the first federal holiday created in more than 40 years. Since then, Kansas’ neighboring states of Nebraska, Missouri, and Colorado have also established Juneteenth as a state holiday. The holiday will apply to Executive Branch employees under Governor Kelly’s jurisdiction.