Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced on Tuesday that the company along with Square will make Juneteenth a company holiday.
“Both Twitter and Square are making #Juneteenth (June 19th) a company holiday in the US, forevermore,” Dorsey tweeted. “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.”
Both Twitter and Square are making #Juneteenth (June 19th) a company holiday in the US, forevermore. A day for celebration, education, and connection.https://t.co/xmR3fWMiRs
— jack (@jack) June 9, 2020
Dorsey’s announcement comes amid two weeks of protests that followed the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody. Floyd died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes despite pleas that he couldn’t breathe. Protests heightened efforts to raise awareness and discuss solutions to the problems of systemic racism and police brutality in the United States.
Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19 and is a holiday where many black Americans celebrate their freedom from slavery. On the date in 1865, Union Gen. Gordon Granger issued an order for the Emancipation Proclamation to be read to enslaved African Americans in Texas.
