In 2022, President Joe Biden made Juneteenth an official federal holiday, meaning many federal offices were closed to celebrate the end of slavery in America.
The Pew Research Center reports that at least 28 states and the District of Columbia also recognizes Juneteenth as a state holiday, with Tennessee officially adopting it in 2022.
Meanwhile, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders on June 16 proclaimed every third Saturday in June as "Juneteenth Independence Day" in the state. However, Arkansas is among many other states who have not officially adopted the holiday at the state level.
KASU News Intern Cidney Davis was at the Juneteenth in Jonesboro community fair on Saturday gathering responses from you in a new segment we're developing that we're calling "Ask U". It's our vox pop project where we give you an opportunity to sound off on various topics.
For our first segment, Cidney went around asking Jonesboro residents how they felt about the Juneteenth holiday not being adopted at the state level in Arkansas. The voices in the vox pop were Dr. Cherisse Jones-Branch, Alicia Hill, La'Metria Butler, RaeChelle Haywood, Rev. Perry Jackson, and Goldie Hollmin.
Our hope is to create more opportunities for you to have your voice heard and to meet you where you are. Follow us on Facebook to learn when and where we'll have something to ask you.
