Juneteenth has been a significant holiday for Black Americans for 150 years, marking the end of slavery in the United States. Also known as Emancipation Day, Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021.
While most Americans understand the history of Juneteenth, a University Of Massachusetts Amherst poll found that only 42% of Americans support it being a federal holiday.
Juneteenth is an important holiday for all Americans as it teaches lessons about the rule of law, equality, how the country came to define what it means to be a U.S. citizen, the stain of slavery on the nation’s history and the actions taken by leaders of the past to end it. It’s also a good time for companies to encourage employees to acknowledge the national holiday. According to research from Mercer, more employers are adding Juneteenth as a paid holiday. Juneteenth is just as crucial to the founding of the modern U.S. as the events celebrated on July Fourth.
