City Celebrates Juneteenth, A Year After Declaring It A Holiday

NEW HAVEN, CT —This time last year, New Haven announced that Juneteenth would be a city holiday. Friday, city employees are off work in honor of Juneteenth.

The day off comes on June 18, as per city policy when a holiday falls on a weekend employees receive a neighboring weekday off. This comes following an announcement last year naming Juneteenth as a city holiday.

Last year’s announcement came on the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth – the date when the final African slaves in Galveston, Texas learned of their freedom. This came two and a half years after the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Last year, in a joint statement, New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker and Board of Alders President Walker-Myers said, "It is critical that we observe this day for all those that have sacrificed everything to ensure justice in our community, to educate our neighbors and loved ones about African-American history, and to join this national calling for racial equality in the United States.”

Thursday, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.

In New Haven, Elicker said Friday that "the past year has been filled with tragedy, but one of the shining moments was the accountability delivered in the George Floyd case, and the nationwide movement his tragic murder sparked."

"Today, we must recommit to the work of educating our community about African-American history, and doing our part to ensure the long arc of the moral universe bends toward justice.”