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The event was made a Texas state holiday beginning in 1980, under legislation introduced by freshman Democratic state representative Al Edwards. The legislation was opposed by African-American representative Clay Smothers of Dallas County, who declared the holiday "fraudulent" and belittled the observance as merely "ceremoniously grinning and bursting watermelons on the Capitol grounds".[10] Juneteenth is a "partial staffing holiday", meaning that state offices do not close, but some employees use a floating holiday to take the day off. Schools are not affected because they are already into summer vacation by June 19.[citation needed]
Its observance has spread to many other states, with a few celebrations taking place even in other countries.[11][12] As of May 2013, 43 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have recognized Juneteenth as either a state holiday or special day of observance; these are Alabama, Alaska,[12][13] Arkansas,[13] California,[12][13] Colorado,[13] Connecticut,[12][13] Delaware,[13] Florida,[13] Georgia, Idaho,[13] Illinois,[13] Indiana, Iowa,[13] Kansas,[13] Kentucky,[13][14] Louisiana,[13] Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,[13] Michigan,[13] Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri,[13] Nebraska,[13] Nevada, New Jersey,[12][13] New Mexico,[13] New York,[12][13] North Carolina,[13] Ohio, Oklahoma,[13] Oregon,[13] Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina,[13] Tennessee,[13] Texas,[13] Vermont,[13] Virginia,[13] Washington,[13] West Virginia,[13] Wisconsin,[13] and Wyoming.[13]
In 1996 the first legislation to recognize "Juneteenth Independence Day" was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.J. Res. 195, sponsored by Barbara-Rose Collins (D-MI). In 1997 Congress recognized the day through Senate Joint Resolution 11 and House Joint Resolution 56. In 2013 The U.S. Senate passed Senate Resolution 175, acknowledging Lula Briggs Galloway (late president of the National Association of Juneteenth Lineage) who "successfully worked to bring national recognition to Juneteenth Independence Day", and the continued leadership of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation.[15]
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