by Gary Lawson President Joe Biden signed legislation on June 17 of this year making Juneteenth a Federal Holiday, and there are no words that can justly capture my sentiments during that time. Notwithstanding, I remembered initiating the first major Juneteenth activity in Des Moines during 1990, the Iowa Juneteenth Celebration…which later became the Iowa Juneteenth Observance… I remembered the hard work it took to introduce the historical meaning of Juneteenth during our outreach efforts in Iowa, a state where about 4% of the population is identified as African Americans… I remembered the difficult work it took to construct, expand, and maintain an infrastructure…and plan… that would secure the Iowa Juneteenth Observance well into the future… I remembered the many people that I had the privilege of working with, as well as those who unsuccessfully placed obstacles in our way… I remembered working with the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation to make Juneteenth an official Federal Holiday, and I also held the office as Chair of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation Stamp Commission… I remembered the feeling I had when our work resulted in the Governor at that time, the Honorable Tom Vilsack, signed legislation on April 11, 2002, resulting in Juneteenth becoming an official State Holiday observance in Iowa…one of the first ten states to do so… I remembered when my wife’s health started to decline, and I turned my responsibilities as Chairperson of the Iowa Juneteenth Observance over to Christopher (Chris) Johnson and was presented with the honorary title of Iowa Juneteenth Chairperson Emeritus… I remembered when Chris was promoted by his employer, and had to relocate from Iowa…and I consequently approached Dwana Bradley, Editorin-chief of what is now the Urban Experience Magazine, and requested that she carry the torch… representing 25 years of the Iowa Juneteenth Observance…into the future, which I firmly believe was the right decision… I remembered that this year, under the leadership of Ms. Bradley, the Iowa Juneteenth Observance State Holiday celebrated 31 years of existence… I remembered all of these things, and more, as Juneteenth became a Federal Holiday!
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