Jack Dorsey is really becoming one of my most fave people. After showing up and showing out during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he has now announced Juneteenth as an official company holiday for Twitter and Square.
Related: Rihanna & Jack Dorsey Donate $4.2 Million To Help Domestic Violence Victims Affected By COVID-19 Quarantine
In a Twitter thread, Jack wrote:
Both Twitter and Square are making #Juneteenth (June 19th) a company holiday in the US, forevermore. A day for celebration, education, and connection.
Countries and regions around the world have their own days to celebrate emancipation, and we will do the work to make those dates company holidays everywhere we are present.
Peep the tweets:
Here’s the scoop on Juneteenth:
Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.
Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free.
Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which had become official January 1, 1863.
The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order.
However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.
Good job, Jack!
Source: Variety
