PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - Gov. Kristi Noem has proclaimed Friday as Juneteenth Day in South Dakota to mark the traditional commemoration date of the emancipation of enslaved African Americans.
The proclamation does not carry the weight of making the day a state-recognized holiday as it is in most other states. Ian Fury, a spokesman for the Republican governor, said only an act of the Legislature can do that.
Deborah Evans, spokeswoman for the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, said she’s glad South Dakota is taking a step with the proclamation.
Democratic Sen. Reynold Nesiba, of Sioux Falls, plans to propose legislation in the 2021 session to add Juneteenth to the list of state-recognized holidays.
Celebrating Juneteenth isn’t limited to people who are the descendants of freed slaves, Nesiba told the Argus Leader. The day celebrates the “inclusive values of a more perfect union” and bringing the country closer to “liberty and justice for all.”
At this particular time, it’s important for South Dakotans to understand the nation’s history, of which emancipation is “a powerful part,” he said.
Republican Rep. Tom Pischke, of Dell Rapids, disagreed with Nesiba on Facebook, saying that Juneteenth becoming a state holiday would divide the state because it celebrates only a group of South Dakotans.
“I don’t think we should concentrate on anything that potentially divides us even more,” he wrote.
This year, the annual celebration of freedom comes amid protests after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The death of Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, sparked worldwide protests over police brutality and racism. He died after Derek Chauvin, a white officer, used his knee to pin down Floyd’s neck for several minutes as Floyd pleaded for air and eventually stopped moving.
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