COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Congress and President Joe Biden acted with swiftness this week in approving Juneteenth as a national holiday. That shifted the battle to the states, where the holiday faces a less enthusiastic response.
Nearly all states recognize Juneteenth in some fashion, at least on paper. However, most have been slow to move beyond proclamations issued by governors or resolutions passed by lawmakers. So far, nine states have designated it in law as an official paid state holiday - Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, Virginia and Washington. All but Texas, where the events of the original Juneteenth took place, acted after the death of George Floyd last year.
This year alone, legislation to make Juneteenth a paid state holiday died in Florida and South Dakota and is stalled in Ohio, all states controlled by Republicans. But even in Maryland, where Democrats control the Legislature, a Juneteenth bill passed one chamber only to die in the other.
The effort recalls the drawn-out battles over recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the last time the federal government designated a new holiday. That legislation, finally passed in 1983, scheduled the holiday to begin three years later. It set off bitter debates in the states over whether to enact their own holidays.
Only a handful of states headed into Thursday's signing of the federal Juneteenth law with the paid holiday on the books to be celebrated in 2021. The governors of Washington, Illinois and Louisiana, by contrast, all signed more recent laws that were set to kick in for 2022, when June 19 falls on a Sunday.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards closed state offices for a half-day Friday, only a few days after he signed Juneteenth legislation, and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker changed his state's start date to 2021.
In another twist, many states have laws that automatically recognize all federal holidays - even those not named in state statute.
Such was the case in Ohio, where Republican Gov. Mike DeWine issued a Juneteenth statement late Thursday and closed state offices in the manner of a hastily called school snow day. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice also declared Juneteenth a state holiday at a last-minute virtual press conference. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont issued his Juneteenth proclamation Friday.
Ohio state Sen. Hearcel Craig, a Columbus Democrat who is Black, said Friday that codifying Juneteenth in state law remains essential. He is sponsoring a Juneteenth bill that passed the Ohio Senate unanimously last session, but time ran out for its consideration in the House. Republicans control both of Ohio's legislative chambers.
"My hope and expectation is that Ohio will choose to be a leader in the quest to honor Black history and the movement toward a more equitable world," Craig said. "And that's not hyperbole. It concerns not only African-Americans but all Americans. Put simply, Black history is American history."
North Carolina law caps the number of state holidays at 12, meaning Juneteenth could only be added if another holiday was dropped. Other states said Friday that whether Juneteenth becomes a paid holiday depends on union negotiations.
In Mississippi, Democratic state Rep. Bryant Clark has filed bills to make Juneteenth a state holiday for about 15 years. All have stalled.
Clark said Friday that he will keep trying. He noted Mississippi legislators took four years to create a state holiday honoring King after the federal holiday was established. In 1987, Mississippi legislators revised a holiday named for Confederate General Robert E. Lee that had been in place for decades, creating a joint holiday honoring Lee and King.
Two other Mississippi lawmakers said Friday that they plan to file a bill to eliminate Confederate Memorial Day as a state holiday and replace it with Juneteenth.
"Sometimes, progress is extremely slow," said Clark, a member of the Legislative Black Caucus. Several communities in Mississippi already hold Juneteenth celebrations. One is the capital city of Jackson, where the population is more than 80 percent Black.
Minnesota has recognized the third Saturday in June as Juneteenth since 1996, but the statute only obligates the governor to issue a proclamation each year honoring the observance. That's a common situation in the U.S., where the holiday is sometimes called Emancipation Day.
Calls by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, to make it an official state holiday have failed to gain traction so far in the Minnesota Legislature, the only one in the nation where Democrats control one chamber and Republicans control the other.
Hawaii is one of only three states left that has not marked the holiday at all. A bill recognizing Juneteenth was signed Wednesday, a day ahead of the federal legislation. It did not create a paid state holiday, however.