Candace Owens Mocks Juneteenth Holiday

Conservative pundit Candace Owens mocked Juneteenth on Monday, sparking criticism from those celebrating the holiday that marks the end of slavery in the United States.

Juneteenth, which became a federal holiday in 2021, commemorates the day Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to 250,000 African Americans who were still enslaved in Galveston, Texas, at the end of the Civil War. It had been more than two years since President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

Millions across the United States now celebrate Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day or Juneteenth Independence Day. Owens, who is herself Black, and other critics of the holiday argue that the Fourth of July, which commemorates when Americans declared independence from Britain, should be the only holiday celebrating independence in the United States.

"Juneteenth is still ghetto and made up. Hope everyone enjoys it!" Owens tweeted on June 19, sparking a wave of criticism online from those who support the holiday.

"Juneteenth is celebrating the end of slavery. If you object to this, there is literally only one reason why," Twitter user @PeoplesCourt79 wrote.

"Celebrating a day when the law of the land was finally, fully applied in practice, freeing people who'd continued to be enslaved long after their freedom was guaranteed on paper, is 'ghetto.' Any holiday commemorating a historical event - July 4, December 25, etc - is 'made up,'" tweeted @DaveBlend.

"It's the day that the last bit of slaves were finally free. How is that ghetto and made up?" tweeted @zeneeofkonoha.

Newsweek reached out to Owens via email for comment.

Owens previously spoke out against Juneteenth after President Joe Biden gave it federal status in 2021. In a series of tweets, she described it as "emotional programming for black people that choose to opt in to the perpetual victim mentality."

"Juneteenth is soooo lame. Democrats really need to stop trying to repackage segregation. I'll be celebrating July 4th and July 4th only. I'm American," Owens wrote.

Critics of the holiday say the Fourth of July encompasses all Americans, regardless of race, and that another independence holiday is divisive and not needed.

However, proponents of Juneteenth say that only white Americans were "free" at the time the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 and that the freedoms outlined by the U.S. founding fathers were not granted to Black Americans until long after breaking free from the British.

Though Juneteenth was initially celebrated in Texas, celebrations have spread to cities across the United States in recent years. Celebrations occurred on Monday in cities including Philadelphia, New York and Houston with events like parades, street parties and cookouts.

Update 6/20/23, 9:45 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional background information.