Juneteenth National Independence Day: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris Sign Bill Establishing Federal Holiday

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris signed a bill establishing Juneteenth National Independence Day as an official federal holiday.

Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act in the East Room of the White House on Thursday, June 17, flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris, who signed the bill in her capacity as Senate president, Yahoo! News reported.

It was the first federal holiday created since 1983 when former President Ronald Reagan established Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The Juneteenth National Independence Day commemorates June 19, 1865, when enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas received the news of freedom. It was two months after the Confederacy had surrendered.

Top officials said the law takes effect immediately and is scheduled to be celebrated on Friday, June 18, because it is the closest weekday.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Sign the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act

During a jubilant White House ceremony, Joe Biden emphasized that the new federal holiday will make Americans learn from the history the country has faced. Furthermore, the president pointed out that the holiday would celebrate the progress of the United States.

The Guardian reported that Joe Biden noted that U.S. reckoning with its history was essential even though the history was painful and shameful.

The president also underscored that great nations must "come to terms with the mistakes they made" to begin to heal and grow from that moment.

Joe Biden also highlighted that the signing of Juneteenth as a federal holiday would be one of his greatest honors as president of the U.S.

Kamala Harris also spoke in the ceremony and recalled the historic nature of Juneteenth.

"We are gathered here in a house built by enslaved people. We are footsteps away from where President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. And we are here to witness President Joe Biden establish Juneteenth as a national holiday... Today is a day of celebration," the vice president said.

Black lawmakers who worked hard to make the bill advance in Congress were also present during the ceremony in the White House. And although they were victorious, the bill had faced opposition in the House, with 14 GOP representatives voted not in favor of the law.

The bill passed with a vote of 415-14 in the House on Wednesday, June 16, a day after it was unanimously passed in the Senate, with Kamala Harris signing it with her capacity as president of the Senate.

Juneteenth National Independence Day Declared as Federal Holiday

Although Juneteenth National Independence Day Act was signed into law, many Black Americans said more is needed to address systemic racism in the country.

Gwen Grant, president and CEO of the Urban League of Kansas City, said marking Juneteenth as a federal holiday was great, but it's still not enough.

Grant noted that Congress should be protecting and focusing more on voting rights. Grant emphasized that safeguarding voting rights is the "most important thing" that Congress should address at this time.

The signing of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris comes as more state legislatures move to limit students' exposure to critical race theory.

WATCH: Biden Declares Juneteenth a Federal Holiday - From ABC News