Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Hours after US President Joe Biden signed into law yesterday at the White House in the nation’s capitol, federal legislation making June 19th — or Juneteenth — a federal holiday, Gov. Lemanu Peleti Palepoi Sialega Mauga joined in declaring it a holiday for American Samoa with ASG offices closed today.

June 19th falls on Saturday, tomorrow and the governor acknowledged President Biden signing into law the bill, making June 19th an official federal holiday. Lemanu said Juneteenth Independence Day will be observed as a holiday in America Samoa today, June 18th.

“Juneteenth Independence Day is a time to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States,” Lemanu said in a memorandum issued late yesterday on this holiday. “I encourage you all to take time this weekend to remember our dark past and embrace the hope and progress that the present has brought us.”

“We also honor all those who have died in pursuit of a more perfect union,” the governor said, and declared that all government offices will be closed today. ASG employees who are not required to perform essential services are excused while those required to work will receive holiday wages in accordance wih applicable laws and regulations.

“Thank you for all your hard work and dedication. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend,” the governor said in the memo.

The Associated Press reports that Juneteenth commemorates the events of June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas — some 2 1/2 years after US President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation had freed slaves in Southern states.

“This day doesn’t just celebrate the past. It calls for action today,” Biden said before he established Juneteenth National Independence Day by signing the bill into law, according to The Associated Press.

Biden’s audience included scores of members of Congress and Opal Lee, a 94-year-old Texas woman who campaigned for the holiday.

Due to the governor’s memo being sent out late yesterday morning by his office, it’s not immediately clear as to how many businesses in the private sector will be closed today.

The Samoa News office will be open today during usual business hours.