Companies Such As Allstate, Google And Nike Have Introduced Over The Previous Year That They Will Recognize Juneteenth As A Paid Holiday For Their Employees.
Amid the wave of discussions about racial injustice that started out to gain momentum closing summer, companies such as Allstate, Google and Nike have announced over the previous year that they will recognize Juneteenth as a paid holiday for their employees.
After passing both the Senate and House previously this week, the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act was signed into law Thursday through President Joe Biden, making it the eleventh federal holiday set up by law, alongside with Christmas, Thanksgiving and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The day celebrates the delayed information that President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, liberating “all folks held as slaves” in the United States. However, it wasn’t till June 19, 1865 – referred to more informally as Juneteenth – that enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom when Union soldiers arrived.
Juneteenth has been celebrated by African Americans for generations since that day. But it wasn't till after the homicide of George Floyd in 2020 that companies began making a considerable change to celebrate the holiday amongst their employees.
More than 460 organizations are observing Juneteenth at this point, with many offering a paid day off or holiday pay, in accordance to HellaCreative, an initiative launched by Black creatives in San Francisco to make Juneteenth an legitimate holiday.