Could Juneteenth become an official Washington state holiday?

Juneteenth is recognized in Washington state, but it’s not a legal state holiday. Some people are trying to change that.

Juneteenth is a meaningful day for Washington state representative John Lovick of Snohomish County (D-44th district).

Lovick’s great-great-grandfather was born enslaved. He lived long enough to speak at Lovick’s school when he was growing up in Louisiana in the 1960s.

“The one thing that he told us that just crushes my heart right now, was when he told us that his mom and dad were born slaves and never saw freedom in their entire life,” Lovick said.

Now, Lovick teaches this history to his younger relatives on Juneteenth, he said, when they gather as a family for a barbecue.

The day commemorates when a Union general informed the people of Galveston, Texas, that slavery was abolished. It was actually two years after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, as enslavers had kept the news from enslaved people.

Earlier this year, Lovick signed onto a bill proposing Juneteenth become a legal state holiday in Washington.

“It would mean that history matters,” he said.

But the bill sank in the legislature.

The bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. Melanie Morgan (D-29th district) testified at the bill's one and only hearing on January 15 in front of the State Government and Tribal Relations committee and urged lawmakers to move the bill forward.

“It is important, not just to my people, but at the end of the day to ALL Americans and to ALL people in the state of Washington,” she said.

Rep. Norma Smith (R-10th district) thanked Morgan for her testimony and began to choke up speaking of the bill’s importance.

“To me it’s critical that we remind people that many things can be justified in the name of economics and that we never forget the lessons of that dark place in our history,” Smith said.

The bill didn’t make it out of committee.

A sticking point was the cost to cover state jobs that couldn’t stop for a day, Lovick said. It was an estimated $3 million dollars a year.

“They told me not to use the term 'budget dust,'" he said. "But a few years ago, we would have referred to that as 'budget dust,'” he said. “Three million dollars in a $54 billion budget.”

Lovick said he’s going to get back in touch with his colleagues in the legislature about Juneteenth and keep pushing for a state holiday, including evaluating new sources to pay for it, such as donations.

This week Juneteenth other jurisdictions across the United States embraced Juneteenth in an official way.

On Tuesday, Philadelphia made Juneteenth an official holiday where all city offices and facilities will be closed.

The next day, June 17, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order making Juneteenth 2020 a paid holiday for state employees, saying he would pursue legislation next year to make it permanent.

Juneteenth has been a legal holiday in Texas since 1980.

Juneteenth is an opportunity for people in Washington to come together across backgrounds (in a socially distanced way for the time being) to talk, celebrate and enjoy neighborhood events, Lovick said.

Maybe Washington state will be next to adopt an official holiday for Juneteenth.

“If there's ever a time to do it, this is the time to do it,” he said.