Washington— Former President Joe Biden went to Galveston, Texas, on Thursday to join aJuneteenthCelebration Service at a historic African Methodist Episcopal Church. He joined the service at the Reedy Chapel AME Church, one of the locations wherean orderannouncing the end of slavery in Texas was read on June 19, 1865, two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, according to the church. In 2021, Bidensigned into lawa measure that made June 19, or Juneteenth, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S. Called the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, the billpassed the Housewith overwhelming support and was approved by unanimous voice vote in the Senate. Biden said at the time that June 19 serves as a "day in which we remember the moral stain, the terrible toll that slavery took on the country, and continues to take." Juneteenth became the nation's first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established in 1983. Several speakers recognized Biden during Thursday's service, including Galveston Mayor Craig Brown, who presented Biden with a plaque noting his role in making Juneteenth a national holiday."I still consider our special guest, President Joe Biden, as my president," Brown said to applause. SpaceX Starship upper stage blows up Hurricane Erick approaches Mexico with destructive winds, major storm surge Man accused of stalking Memphis mayor, knocking on his door with taser