Gov. Beshear signs executive order making Juneteenth executive branch holiday

This year will be the first year Juneteenth is recognized as a holiday in Kentucky. Gov. Andy Beshear signed an executive order on Thursday to recognize Juneteenth as a statewide holiday, making June 19 a holiday for executive branch employees. While efforts to make Juneteenth a state holiday stalled in the Kentucky General Assembly, many communities have already done so. Juneteenth was proclaimed as a holiday in Louisville in 2020. Last year, Beshear signed a proclamation to recognize the day, but this is the first year that Juneteenth will be a holiday. Juneteenth commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States. "It is our responsibility to look back on one of the ugliest chapters in our history. We must look at it straight on and not hide from our own history - even the parts that are painful," said Beshear. "Instead, we recognize it, we attempt to learn from it, and we work to repair the lasting damage and heal our nation's wounds so we can make progress for a better tomorrow."Beshear also signed an executive order to prohibit discrimination based on race-based natural hairstyles.