Pharrell Williams and Governor Ralph Northam declare Juneteenth a state holiday in Virginia

Pharrell Williams just helped to declare Juneteenth a state holiday in Virginia, and now he’s advocating for a national holiday.

The rapper, songwriter and producer, who is a native of Virginia Beach, joined Virginia Governor Ralph Northam in a press conference on Tuesday to help announce the paid state holiday.

“It makes sense that Virginia officially recognizes this holiday in this powerful way, and that’s because it’s been overlooked for so long,” Williams, 47, said in a clip from his speech that he shared on Instagram.

Juneteenth, which is celebrated on June 19, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. Despite President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, Juneteenth only dates back to 1865.

It was on June 19 of that year that Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce that enslaved African-Americans were free, as Confederate General Robert E. Lee had surrendered and the Civil War had ended.

The holiday gets its name by combining the words “June” and “Nineteenth,” and it is also known as Emancipation Day, Juneteenth Independence Day and Black Independence Day.

“This is our chance in Virginia to lead by example,” Williams said in his speech, as Gov. Northam’s legislation would make Virginia just the second state (after Texas) to observe Juneteenth as a paid holiday.

“This is our chance to lead to truly embrace the importance of Juneteenth and treat it as a celebration of freedom that black people deserve, and African diaspora deserve - worldwide, by the way,” Williams continued.

“This is about proper recognition, it’s about observation and it’s about celebration. This is a chance for our government, our corporations and our citizens to all stand in solidarity with their African-American brothers and sisters,” he said. “This year, Juneteenth will look like no other Juneteenth before it.”

Williams also shared a link in his Instagram story to a Change.org petition advocating for Juneteenth to be observed as a national holiday in America.