More Americans are in favor of making Juneteenth a national holiday than not, according to a new poll released by Gallup on Tuesday.
According to the poll, nearly 35 percent of Americans believe that Juneteenth should become a federal holiday while only about 25 percent are against it. Forty percent of Americans are undecided on the matter.
Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19, commemorates the abolishment of slavery. The date refers not to the end of legal slavery in the United States, but to the time when enslaved people in Texas — some of the last to hear the news — learned of their freedom
Sixty-nine percent of Black adults said that they supported the day becoming a federal holiday, according to the survey. About 39 percent of Hispanic adults agreed that Juneteenth should be a federal holiday while almost 27 percent of white adults agreed.
Democrats were more in favor of making Juneteenth a national holiday — 57 percent of Democratic participants said that the day should be a federal holiday. Thirty percent independents agreed that the day should be recognized as a federal holiday, while 7 percent of Republicans said the same.
Young people were also in favor of recognizing the day nationally. Fifty-two percent of 18- to 34-year-olds agreed that Juneteenth should be a federal holiday.
Americans aged 55 and older were less likely to agree that the holiday should be recognized — 18 percent of those in the demographic said they would be in favor of the change. Thirty-seven percent of Americans polled between the ages of 35 and 54 agreed that Juneteenth should be a national holiday.
The poll was conducted May 18-23 among a random sample of 3,572 adults, aged 18 and older. It had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.