 By God's grace, I will be back at full strength soon, she told constituents at the time. Ms. Jackson Lee was the author and lead sponsor of the legislation that in 2021 established Juneteenth, commemorating the day in 1865 when the last slaves in Texas finally learned of their freedom as the first new federal holiday in 38 years. Here she is speaking on the House floor in advance of the passage of that legislation in 2021.