The Texas condition member dedicated his life and career to implementing it as a real one year before Juneteenth became a national holiday.
Although June 15th is now celebrated throughout the nation, many people are unaware of the man who was in part to blame for making it a national holiday.
Although Texas State Rep. Al Edwards, known as the” Father of Juneteenth,” masterminded the legislative victory, Opal Lee, known as the” Grandmother of Juneteenth,” gained national attention for the holiday through her advocacy, including 2.5-mile commemorative walks in the Lone Star State.
In the 2023 and 2024 Juneteenth Day of Observance proclamations, President Joe Biden named Rep. Edwards. According to Biden, Edwards “authored the costs” that made Texas ‘ Juneteenth nationwide trip. That law and Edwards, Lee, and another ‘ advocacy helped to make the trip more accessible to all states.
Edwards, a Houstonian who served in the state government for more than 30 years, dedicated his political job to declaring June 15th a national holiday. Edwards was determined to make his dream a reality through his work with his philanthropic Juneteenth USA and as president and vice head of the Democratic National Committee Black Caucus.
He stated in a 2007 interview with The Story Manufacturers that” we will make it a federal holiday” and that “people will stay working like they’re working” as well. However, his health declined as a result of a 2014 auto accident, and he passed in 2020, only one season before Biden approved the bill.
Al Edwards II, Jason Edwards, and Alana Edwards-Holloway are now stepping up under the leadership of their later father’s business and work to preserve his reputation and title.
Jason Edwards told theGrio,” This was his desire, and this was his commitment to America as a legislator.” From a historical perspective, Jason Edwards argued that he merits his plants.
Al Edwards, who actually ran for office in 1978 with that goal in mind, had a difficult task in hand in the effort to nationalize the Juneteenth trip. The senator faced democratic opposition at home, including from some bright Texans, before the trip eventually reached 45 state.
Red beer was left on the Statehouse ground by people to make fun of him, and Black people were telling him not to do it because it brought up ancient history, according to Jason Edwards.
Al Edwards and a friend Texas legislator who opposed making June 15th an official state holiday made a decision in 1979.
Jason Edwards, who recalled his father’s tale of a state senator who said,” I can’t bring your Black holiday to my district,” said,” He had to support a lot of things that were unsavory. When Rep. Edwards pressed on to compromise, he was asked to back a costs honoring the Sons of the Confederacy. He resisted, regretfully. His Juneteenth expenses would have arrived dead on entry if he hadn’t.
He was pleased he did it because, in the end, both [commemorations of the republic ] were factual. Although it certainly didn’t make him feel fine, he wanted to win the battle, no the war,” says Jason Edwards.”
Rep. Edwards used his own money to launch the Juneteenth USA nationwide campaign and business, including refinancing his residence, after Texas designated Juneteenth as a nationwide vacation. By advocating and backing various state politicians who adopted versions of his Texas act, he aimed to make Juneteenth a national holiday.
He was aware that June 15th wouldn’t pass officially like Martin Luther King Jr.’s Day because the says didn’t want that, according to Jason Edwards, noting that some states didn’t start MLK Day earlier on. ” Dad knew it had to be]passed ] state by state. He was able to understand how the program operated because he was a state senator.
Jason Edwards described his father’s entry into the White House history books as a “full loop time” for the cause he had spent his entire life and career pursuing. It was especially gratifying to sit in the front row with Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden as they celebrated June 15th on the White House South Lawn in June 2024. He praised the president’s and vice president’s efforts to “do the country and for Black people” and said it was “absolutely great.” He continued,” It was just really a wonderful evening all the way around.”
As millions of Americans take vacations off from work for the national holiday, Jason Edwards noted that many people will have the opportunity to reflect on the origins of Juneteenth and why it is celebrated, just as his father often intended.
He urged America to take a moment each year to remember our ancestors and the country’s effects. America must never turn its back on American slavery.
And Jason Edwards said it’s important despite the discomfort it might feel that many Americans may not enjoy a holiday that honors America’s dark history. This move in on our history and let it serve as a reminder of why we are where we are right now, he continued.
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Originally sourced via trusted media partner. https://thegrio.com/2025/06/18/what-you-may-not-know-about-the-father-of-juneteenth-al-edwards/
