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Juneteenth holiday vote a split decision for Chattanooga area members of Congress

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Flag-bearers and attendees move to south side of the Walnut Street Bridge for the ceremony. 100 flag-bearers combined with 55 flags hung from the bridge commemorated 155 years since emancipation form slavery. People gathered during the Chattanooga Festival of Black Arts & Ideas's 3rd Annual Juneteenth Independence Day Commemoration, "A Bridge Over Troubled Waters," on Friday, June 19, 2020.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Flag-bearers and attendees move to south side of the Walnut Street Bridge for the ceremony. 100 flag-bearers combined with 55 flags hung from the bridge commemorated 155 years since emancipation form slavery. People gathered during the Chattanooga Festival of Black Arts & Ideas's 3rd Annual Juneteenth Independence Day Commemoration, "A Bridge Over Troubled Waters," on Friday, June 19, 2020. Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Flag-bearers and attendees move to south side of the Walnut Street Bridge for the ceremony. 100 flag-bearers combined with 55 flags hung from the bridge commemorated 155 years since emancipation form slavery. People gathered during the Chattanooga Festival of Black Arts & Ideas's 3rd Annual Juneteenth Independence Day Commemoration, "A Bridge Over Troubled Waters," on Friday, June 19, 2020.

By Patrick Filbin 3 min read

Some of the most conservative members of the House of Representatives voted against a proposal this past week to make Juneteenth a national holiday, but Northwest Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Greene was not among them.

Greene, R-Rome, voted in favor of the designation.

“I’m in support of celebrating important days in American history, and the emancipation of slaves is important,” Greene said in a statement to the Times Free Press. “Plus, any day that we can shut down the federal government is a good day for the American people.”

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Ooltewah, also voted yes.

“America is the greatest country in the world because of our dedication to ensuring life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all Americans,” his office said in a statement. “Juneteenth recognizes emancipation reaching all black Americans in 1865, finally enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation, and was an important step in our country becoming a better place for all Americans. I am proud to have joined an overwhelming bipartisan majority of my colleagues to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.”