WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday surprised a group of kids at the National Museum of African American History and Culture to mark Juneteenth.
“I’m so happy to see all of you,” Harris told the kids at the museum in Washington, D.C.
She spoke one-on-one with kids and stressed the importance of the newest federal holiday, which celebrates the end of slavery in the United States.
On June 19, 1965, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, word of freedom at last reached a group of enslaved Black people in Texas.
While several states had already recognized the historic date, the federal government made it a national holiday last year. Congress approved doing so with overwhelming bipartisan support and Harris stood by the president’s side as he signed the bill into law.
“Let this be a day that is a day to celebrate the principle of freedom, but to speak about it honestly and accurately,” Harris said Monday.
She said it’s important that the next generation continues to push the country forward and advocate for freedom across the globe.
“Everything we do is about you,” she told the kids.