List of African-American holidays

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African-Americans make up 12% of the American population and there are several holidays that celebrate them.

Contents

Federal holidays

The following are African-American federal holidays in the United States:

DateNameFirst celebratedRemarks
third Monday of January Martin Luther King Jr. Day 1986The birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. [1]
June 19 Juneteenth National Independence Day 2021Commemorates General Order No. 3, the legal decree issued in 1865 by Union General Gordon Granger enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation to the residents of Galveston, Texas, at the end of the American Civil War. [2]

State holidays

The following are African-American holidays celebrated in at least one US State or territory:

DateNameNumber of States/territories celebratingFirst celebratedStates CelebratingRemarks
February 4 or December 1 Rosa Parks Day 81998 Alabama (2018), [3] California (2000), Michigan (1998), [4] Missouri (2015), Ohio (2011), Oregon (2014), Tennessee (2019), [5] Texas (2021)The birthday or arrest of Rosa Parks
March 22 or April 16 or May 20 or July 3 or November 1 Emancipation Day 52005 Florida (2021), [6] Maryland (2013), [7] Puerto Rico, Washington, DC (2005), [8] United States Virgin Islands (2017) [9] Commemorates the Emancipation of slaves
March 10 Harriet Tubman Day 12000 Maryland (2000) [10] The death of Harriet Tubman
May 19 Malcolm X Day 12015 Illinois (2015) [11] The birthday of Malcolm X
August 4 Barack Obama Day 12017 Illinois (2017) [12] The birthday of Barack Obama
February 4 Transit Equality Day 12022 Wisconsin (2022) [13] The birthday of Rosa Parks
February 1 George Washington Carver Day 12023 Iowa (2023) [14]

Municipal holidays

The following African-American holidays are celebrated by different municipalities:

DateNameNumber of Municipalities curatingFirst celebratedMunicipalities CelebratingRemarks
March 3 Liberation and Freedom Day 12019 Charlottesville, Virginia (2019) [15] Emancipation of slaves in Charlottesville
September 24 Kunta Kinte Heritage Festival 11987 Annapolis, Maryland (1987) [16] The arrival of Kunta Kinte

Other

The following are non-government African American holidays:

DateNameOrganizationFirst celebratedRemarks
April 15 Jackie Robinson Day Major League Baseball 2004Opening day for Jackie Robinson's first season
June Odunde Festival Philadelphia community1975Celebration of the Yoruba people
February Black History Month Black Students Union1970February in the United States and Canada, October in the United Kingdom and Ireland
June African-American Music Appreciation Month 1979
December 26 to January 1 Kwanzaa 1966

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juneteenth</span> US holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people

Juneteenth, officially Juneteenth National Independence Day, is a federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday's name is a portmanteau of the words "June" and "nineteenth", as it was on June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War. In the Civil War period, slavery came to an end in various areas of the United States at different times. Many enslaved Southerners escaped, demanded wages, stopped work, or took up arms against the Confederacy of slave states. In January 1865, Congress finally proposed the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution for national abolition of slavery. By June 1865, almost all enslaved were freed by the victorious Union Army, or abolition laws in some of the remaining U.S. states. When the national abolition amendment was ratified in December, the remaining enslaved in Delaware and in Kentucky were freed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Confederate Memorial Day</span> Observance in some Southern U.S. states

Confederate Memorial Day is a holiday observed in several Southern U.S. states on various dates since the end of the American Civil War. The holiday was originally publicly presented as a day to remember the estimated 258,000 Confederate soldiers who died during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal holidays in the United States</span> U.S. government holidays

Federal holidays in the United States are 11 calendar dates designated by the U.S. federal government as holidays. On these days non-essential U.S. federal government offices are closed and federal employees are paid for the day off.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag Day (United States)</span> Holiday commemorating the adoption of the national flag (June 14, 1777)

Flag Day is a holiday celebrated on June 14 in the United States. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. The Flag Resolution stated "That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public holidays in the United States</span> Holidays in the United States of America

In the United States, public holidays are set by federal, state, and local governments and are often observed by closing government offices or giving government employees paid time off. The federal government does not require private businesses to close or offer paid time off, as is the case for most state and local governments, so employers determine which holidays to observe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casimir Pulaski Day</span> Holiday celebrated in Illinois, United States

Casimir Pulaski Day is a local holiday officially observed in Illinois, on the first Monday of March in memory of Casimir Pulaski, a Revolutionary War cavalry officer born in Poland as Kazimierz Pułaski. He is praised for his contributions to the U.S. military in the American Revolution and known as "the father of the American cavalry".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emancipation Day</span> Holiday to celebrate emancipation of enslaved people

Emancipation Day is observed in many former European colonies in the Caribbean and areas of the United States on various dates to commemorate the emancipation of slaves of African descent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln's Birthday</span> Holiday celebrating Abraham Lincolns birthday

Lincoln's Birthday is a legal, public holiday in some U.S. states, observed on the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth on February 12, 1809, in Hodgenville, Kentucky. Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, California, Missouri, and New York observe the holiday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Labor Day</span> Federal holiday in the United States

Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements in the United States.

Native American Heritage Day is a civil holiday observed on the day after Thanksgiving in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">140th Anniversary Celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation</span> National campaign celebrates 140th anniversary of Emancipation Proclamation

The 140th Anniversary Celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation was a national campaign to honor, celebrate, and commemorate January 1, 2003, as the 140th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, by United States President Abraham Lincoln.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidents' Day</span> US holiday honoring George Washington and other presidents

Presidents' Day, officially Washington's Birthday at the federal governmental level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February. It is often celebrated to honor all those who served as presidents of the United States and, since 1879, has been the federal holiday honoring Founding Father George Washington, who led the Continental Army to victory in the American Revolutionary War, presided at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and was from 1789 to 1797 the first U.S. president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act</span> 1862 U.S. federal law ending slavery in DC

An Act for the Release of certain Persons held to Service or Labor in the District of Columbia, 37th Cong., Sess. 2, ch. 54, 12 Stat. 376, known colloquially as the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act or simply Compensated Emancipation Act, was a law that ended slavery in the District of Columbia, while providing slave owners who remained loyal to the United States in the then-ongoing Civil War to petition for compensation. Although not written by him, the act was signed by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 16, 1862. April 16 is now celebrated in the city as Emancipation Day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosa Parks Day</span> American holiday in honor of the civil rights leader Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks Day is a holiday in honor of the civil rights leader Rosa Parks, celebrated in the U.S. state of Missouri on her birthday, February 4, in Michigan and California on the first Monday after her birthday, and in Ohio and Oregon on the day she was arrested, December 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malcolm X Day</span> American holiday

Malcolm X Day is an American holiday in honor of Malcolm X that is celebrated on either May 19 or the third Friday of May. The commemoration of the civil rights leader has been proposed as an official state holiday in the U.S. state of Illinois in 2015 and Missouri as recent as 2019. As of present, only the cities of Berkeley and Oakland in California, observe the holiday with city offices and schools closed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holidays with paid time off in the United States</span>

In the United States there are a number of observed holidays where employees receive paid time off. The labor force in the United States comprises about 62% of the general population. In the United States, 97% of the private sector businesses determine what days this sector of the population gets paid time off, according to a study by the Society for Human Resource Management. The following holidays are observed by the majority of US businesses with paid time off: New Year's Day, New Year's Eve, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, the day after known as Black Friday, Christmas Eve and Christmas. There are also numerous holidays on the state and local level that are observed to varying degrees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juneteenth flag</span> Flag that marks the holiday of Juneteenth

The Juneteenth flag is a symbol for the Juneteenth holiday in the United States. The first version was created in 1997 by activist Ben Haith and that early version was displayed in 1997. The present version was first flown in 2000. The colors and symbols on the flag are representative of freedom and the end of slavery. The date on the flag represents that of General Order No. 3 issued in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. Beginning in 2020, many states began recognizing Juneteenth by flying the flag over their state capitol buildings, especially after Juneteenth was declared a federal holiday by President Joe Biden the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">End of slavery in the United States</span>

From the late 18th to the mid-19th century, various states of the United States allowed the enslavement of human beings, most of whom had been transported from Africa during the Atlantic slave trade or were their descendants. The institution of chattel slavery was established in North America in the 16th century under Spanish colonization, British colonization, French colonization, and Dutch colonization.

References

  1. ↑ "Federal Holidays". opm.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  2. ↑ "www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/475". congress.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  3. ↑ "Mrs. Rosa L. Parks Day". servealabama. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  4. ↑ "Monday is Rosa Parks Day in Michigan". mlive.com. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  5. ↑ "TN Celebrates 2nd Annual Rosa Parks Day with Bus Memorials in Major Cities - The Tennessee Tribune". tntribune.com. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  6. ↑ "Emancipation Day in Florida - Division of Library and Information Services - Florida Department of State". dos.myflorida.com. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  7. ↑ Young, Timothy (November 2, 2020). "Maryland officials recognize November 1 as Emancipation Day". DC News Now . Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  8. ↑ "History of Emancipation Day". emancipation. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  9. ↑ "July 3 marks 170 years since Virgin Islands Emancipation - Government of the United States Virgin Islands". vi.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  10. ↑ "Harriet Tubman Day Celebrated in March". news.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  11. ↑ "Illinois Designates May 19 as Malcolm X Day". Chicago Monitor. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  12. ↑ "'Barack Obama Day' Is Now an Illinois Holiday". NBC Chicago. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  13. ↑ ""Transit Equity Day" recognized in Wisconsin". weau.com. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  14. ↑ "Iowa celebrates inaugural George Washington Carver Day on Feb. 1". msn.com. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  15. ↑ "Charlottesville to honor Liberation and Freedom Day, not Thomas Jefferson's birthday". wtvr.com. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  16. ↑ "Kunta Kinte Heritage Festival: a Celebration of Culture". visitannapolis.org. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
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