Juneteenth, a national celebration of freedom and equity, has become San Bernardino County’s newest official holiday.
The Board of Supervisors proclaimed June 19 of each year as Juneteenth within San Bernardino County.
County residents to take time on that day to reflect upon the freedoms we enjoy and how each of us can practice and promote equity for all people. The Board also formally granted county employees a corresponding holiday to celebrate Juneteenth and what the observance represents.
June 19 falls on a Sunday this year, so County offices will be closed on June 20. Juneteenth, a blending of the words “June” and “nineteenth,” marks the date in 1865 when slaves in Galveston, Texas were informed the Civil War had ended and they were free. Although President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years earlier, countless Americans continued to be held as slaves for the duration of the war. June 19 has become the date that represents the end of slavery in the United States.
COUNTY SUPERVISORS DECLARE JUNETEENTH A COUNTY HOLIDAY
