Beshear signs Juneteenth executive order in Frankfort

FRANKFORT, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) – Governor Andy Beshear has signed an executive order recognizing Juneteenth as a state holiday in Kentucky. The mayors of Louisville and Lexington have expressed their support for this move.

Juneteenth, which is already a federal holiday, commemorates June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom through the Emancipation Proclamation, over two years after it was issued. Notably, slaves in Kentucky were not officially freed until six months later.

Governor Beshear stated that his executive order recognizes June 19 as a National Day of Freedom for the Commonwealth.