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Nevada

Bill to mark Juneteenth Day advances

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
April 2, 2011 - 1:11 am
 

CARSON CITY -- Nevada may celebrate a landmark day of the end of slavery in the United States if a new bill passes.

The Assembly approved a bill Friday that would require the governor to declare June 19 "Juneteenth Day" in honor of the day in 1865 that the last slaves were informed of their emancipation.

The news came to slaves in Galveston, Texas, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863.

The proclamation calls for the acknowledgement of the contributions of African-Americans to the state.

Assemblyman Harvey Munford, D-Las Vegas, co-sponsored Assembly Bill 174 with Assemblywoman Dina Neal, D-North Las Vegas, and Assemblyman Joseph Hogan, D-Las Vegas.

AB174 now moves to the Senate.

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