"Reflect, listen, and reprogram"

Taylor Swift Calls For Juneteenth To Be Made A National Holiday: "Stand Up For What's Right"

Taylor Swift celebrated Juneteenth 2020 with a call for the day to be made a U.S. national holiday. The singer backed up her claim by giving her employees the day off as well. Read her statement here.

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Taylor Swift wants greater recognition for the significance of Juneteenth.

The June 19 holiday - which marks the end of slavery and the liberation of slaves in the state of Texas on June 19, 1865 - is recognized as a state holiday in 47 American states. But it's not recognized as a national holiday.

Today, on the 155th Juneteenth, Swift devoted her platforms to education on and celebration of the holiday, which is also known as Freedom Day and Black Independence Day.

Taylor Swift says Juneteenth should be a National holiday

"I want to thank @the.root and @thedanielleyoung for allowing me to post this video about the significance of today, June 19th, and why it should be celebrated as a National holiday," Swift's Instagram post began, referencing the creators of the educational video she shared.

In the post, the singer added, "I made the decision to give all of my employees June 19th off in honor of Freedom Day from now on, and to continue to educate myself on the history that brought us to this present moment.

"For my family, everything that has transpired recently gives us an opportunity to reflect, listen, and reprogram any part of our lives that hasn’t been loudly and ferociously anti-racist, and to never let privilege lie dormant when it could be used to stand up for what's right," the statement concluded.

As of 2020, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Hawaii are the three states that do not recognize Juneteenth as a holiday.

As People reports, last year, the U.S. senate passed a resolution recognizing Juneteenth Independence Day, but the House has yet to approve it.

Taylor Swift uses her platform to "stand up for what's right"

Swift's awareness-raising advocacy for Juneteenth continues her allyship with the Black Lives Matter movement and the fight against systemic racism.

The Tennessee-born singer has similarly called for change in her home state, with reference to its continued presence of statues memorializing Confederate officers, Ku Klux Klan figures, and slave traders.

"When you fight to honor racists, you show black Tennesseans and all of their allies where you stand, and you continue this cycle of hurt. You can’t change history, but you can change this," she said in a post shared this past weekend.