New Jersey was the last Northern state to abolish slavery — and had enslaved people past Juneteenth. The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice wants to study the damages and what can be done.
Lawmakers also voting on bills creating Juneteenth holiday, abolishing 'freeholder' title and urging Alabama to rename Edmund Pettus Bridge after John Lewis.
Senate votes to create a June 19 state holiday. Assembly votes to commemorate Black Lives Matter each July 13. Neither bill has yet made it to Gov. Phil Murphy.
Juneteenth is the oldest, nationally-celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. Also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, it's officially observed nationwide every June 19.