Senate unanimously passes a bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday

The Senate unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day, a US holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

The measure needs to pass the House and be signed by President Joe Biden to become law.

Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee are among the members of Congress who led the effort to to make Juneteenth the 12th federal holiday.

Newark NJ to unveil statue of George Floyd

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka on Wednesday is set to unveil a statue of George Floyd that officials say will be displayed outside City Hall for at least a year.

“The artwork honors the life of George Floyd, an African-American man who was brutally murdered by a white Minneapolis police officer,” the mayor’s office said in a statement. “Mr. Floyd’s death elevated the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement which has resulted in an international response, including protests, police reform measures, and the removal of Confederate statues from public parks and racist names from organizations.”

Baraka will join actor, director, and filmmaker Leon Pickney, who commissioned the 700-pound statue and the sculptor, Stanley Watts, among other officials at the event, according to the mayor’s office. The event is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. outside City Hall on Board Street and will be streamed via the city’s Facebook page.

The statue was donated to the city this week as part of an effort to develop a “world class public art program,” in Newark, the announcement said.

[SOURCE: NJ.COM]

Slavery reparations bill passed in New York State Assembly

The New York State Assembly Wednesday voted to pass a slavery reparation bill.

The bill was spearheaded by Assemblyman Charles Barron and passed with 107 lawmakers in favor.

If it passes, the six groups will form an 11-person committee comprised of lawmakers and people in the community to decide how those reparations will be paid.

The bill moves to the Senate next, and organizations are calling for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign it by the end of the year.

Senate votes to confirm Biden judicial nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson

The Senate voted Monday evening to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s pick to fill a vacancy on a powerful DC-based appellate court and one of the President’s most closely watched judicial nominees.

The vote was 53-44. Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted with Democrats in favor of confirmation.

The vote elevates Jackson from the US District Court for the District of Columbia to the influential US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, which is seen as a breeding ground for Supreme Court justices.

She is widely viewed as a potential Supreme Court pick if there were to be a vacancy on the high court during Biden’s time in office. Biden pledged during the campaign to name the first Black woman to the Supreme Court should a vacancy arise. Administration officials have stood by that pledge since Biden entered the White House, and Jackson has repeatedly come up as a leading candidate.

ABC Airing in ‘Juneteenth: Together We Triumph – A ‘Soul of a Nation’ Special Event’

“Good Morning America” co-anchor Michael Strahan sat down for a one-on-one interview with former President Barack Obama about race, resilience and Obama’s book “A Promised Land.” The interview will air in “Juneteenth: Together We Triumph – A ‘Soul of a Nation’ Special Event” on Friday, June 18 (9:01-11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. The special event is available the next day on demand and on Hulu.

In the interview, Obama tells Strahan the following: “We’re not all going to live in a perfect kumbaya society. But we can make it better by working and by reaching out and by assuming the best in each other. And if enough of us do that, we move that boulder up the hill.”

A collaboration between ABC News and ABC Entertainment, “Juneteenth: Together We Triumph – A ‘Soul of a Nation’ Special Event,” will present an enriching evening of celebration and resilience in observance of Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating when the enslaved persons in Texas learned of their freedom. Leslie Odom Jr. will guest host two hours of intimate storytelling and powerful tributes with performances by Jimmie Allen, Chloe Bailey (of Chloe x Halle), Leon Bridges and H.E.R.

This powerful special event will include the following stories by ABC News anchors and correspondents:

• Linsey Davis delves into allyship and the historic partnerships observed in the last year between the Black community and white neighbors in small towns and Black and Asian American religious leaders in urban areas. Davis explores the nuances of performative allyship versus genuine collaboration.
• Deborah Roberts opens up her own kitchen for an in-depth look into the origins, history and meaning of soul food. She looks at how the racial reckoning in the last year has influenced Black cuisine.
• Kenneth Moton travels south where the struggles and discrimination faced by Black farmers are front and center, and money earmarked in the stimulus package for this group may provide hope and relief.
• Janai Norman showcases a new wave of bold artists who are using their art to inspire change, spark difficult conversations, and ultimately provide a cultural lens.
• Steve Osunsami introduces viewers to a Black business that helped build the nation brick by brick for more than 100 years. He also spotlights how Black-owned businesses and the “Buy Black Movement” endured during a time of racial reckoning.
• Zachary Kiesch brings viewers more unaired footage of his “Soul of a Nation” interview with H.E.R.
• 
  

This is the second consecutive year ABC News is producing a special to honor the history and significance of the Juneteenth tradition. In 2020, ABC News’ primetime special “Juneteenth: A Celebration of Overcoming” was the No. 1 program across the board in its time slot. It is currently streaming on Hulu.

“Soul of a Nation” and its respective specials on the year after George Floyd’s murder and observance of Juneteenth are the latest original programming from ABC News, which has a renewed focus on telling diverse stories across the news division. Previous programming includes the aforementioned No. 1-rated “Juneteenth: A Celebration of Overcoming”; the three-day, division-wide series “Pandemic – A Nation Divided” on the disparity in race and class amid the pandemic; “America in Pain: What Comes Next?” on the protests and outrage across the country in response to the killing of George Floyd, police brutality and systemic racism against Black Americans; the month-long reporting series “Turning Point”; and the pre-election special “America’s Future: The Power of the Latino Vote.”