St. Louis County officials have announced that Juneteenth will be an official county holiday.
The county鈥檚 Civil Service Commission voted Thursday to add June 19 to the county鈥檚 holiday calendar. It commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important that we all take the opportunity to commemorate the historic gravity of Juneteenth,鈥� St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said in a statement. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a day to appreciate the changes that we have seen since the 19th century while also reflecting upon how we can each play a role in the changes that are yet to come.鈥�
County officials closed offices last year to commemorate the holiday.
St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson signed a proclamation last year designating June 19 as 鈥淛uneteenth Day鈥� in the city. A spokesperson from the mayor said the date will be a paid holiday this year.
The holiday鈥檚 roots trace back to Texas, where two years after the emancipation proclamation, former slaves celebrated on June 19, 1865. The date became a regional holiday, then spread to other parts of the country. The holiday has become more prominent in recent years. Thousands of people across the St. Louis region gathered at last year to commemorate Juneteenth.
Historians say they hope St. Louisans use the holiday to reflect on the atrocities of slavery and focus on the continuing fight for justice for African Americans across the country.
鈥淚 would hope that people would look at it now, think about slavery, but also think about Black people renewing their hope and wanting to have America live up to its promises and finally that Black people would get the full citizenship that they should have gotten on the day that they learned that they were free,鈥� said Gerald Early, professor of African and African American Studies at Washington University.
Everyone should use Juneteenth to understand the nation鈥檚 legacy of slavery and oppression, Early said.
鈥淲e still suffer from inadequate health care, inadequate education,鈥� he said. 鈥淏lack people's economic worth, their financial worth, we鈥檙e still at the bottom, and so we have suffered from the vestiges of slavery. So having this once again is a good way to remind people not only of the horrors of the past of slavery, but it鈥檚 still affecting black people today.鈥�
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