Juneteenth becoming a permanent holiday in Milwaukee County

Juneteenth will become a permanent holiday in Milwaukee County.

The County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a resolution Thursday making June 19 of every year a major holiday, meaning county facilities will be closed for Juneteenth.

The move comes after County Executive David Crowley declared June 19, 2020, a floating holiday for government employees by executive order last week. 

"Marking Juneteenth as an official holiday is a declaration that Black Lives Matter, and it is an invitation to all Milwaukee County residents to reflect upon the significance of this day and the struggles that Black Americans have endured for the past 401 years," Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson said in a statement. 

"Providing County employees with one more paid holiday is a demonstration of our commitment to improving the health and wellness of all County employees through the pursuit racial equity."

Before the vote to adopt the resolution, supervisors unanimously approved an amendment to make June 19 of every year a "major" holiday.

A previous version of the proposal would have made June 19 of every year a floating holiday.

Juneteenth Day, or "Freedom Day," is celebrated June 19, commemorating the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and notified the last remaining slaves in the South that the Civil War had ended and they were free. That was two years after President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

In Milwaukee, Juneteenth celebrations first took place in 1971, making it one of the first northern cities to host celebrations to commemorate emancipation.

Milwaukee County previously adopted a racial equity ordinance in April, and declared racism a public health crisis in April 2019.

Supervisors on Thursday also approved a resolution condemning racial injustice across the United States and in Milwaukee County and seeking to dismantle institutional and structural racism. The resolution requests reports from the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, Department of Transportation, and Circuit Court about policies and practices to achieve racial equity.

Thursday's meeting began with a "Say Their Names" presentation in which supervisors, Crowley and the county clerk read the names of Black men, women and children killed by police around the country and in Milwaukee over the last decade.

Contact Mary Spicuzza at (414) 224-2324 or mary.spicuzza@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MSpicuzzaMJS.