President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris emphasized the importance of teaching black history before Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law, a bill declaring June 19 a federal holiday to mark the end of slavery in the United States.

“Great nations don’t ignore their most painful moments. They embrace them. Great nations don’t walk away. We come to terms with the mistakes we’ve made,” Biden said Thursday in the White House’s East Room.

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