Juneteenth 2023: Closures and Celebrations Across the US
Mississippi state offices remained open during the Juneteenth federal holiday, which commemorates the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans, despite closing for the Confederate Memorial Day state holiday in April. Efforts to make Juneteenth a state holiday have failed, while the governor has issued annual proclamations declaring April as Confederate Heritage Month. Black residents make up 38% of Mississippi's population, but the state has only one Black representative in Congress and has not elected any Black leaders to the U.S. Senate or statewide office since before the end of Reconstruction in the late 1800s.