Juneteenth is already an official state holiday in Texas, and while 46 states and the District of Columbia mark the occasion as a holiday or day of observation, it was still lesser known outside the Black community until recently.
“It’s monumental that there’s an acknowledgment, because for 400 years we have endured oppression,” said Stephen Green, chair of New York-based Faith for Black Lives, a coalition of religious leaders, and a pastor at the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York.
Green convened JusticeCon, a virtual social justice convention on Juneteenth, scheduled to feature speakers including Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker.
“To have major companies acknowledge that we’re not a post-racial America or a utopian ideal of a nation that never wrestled with this original sin of racism, it speaks volumes,” Green said.
--With assistance from Gabrielle Coppola and Donald Moore.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.