The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors has approved the creation of Juneteenth as an official county holiday, creating a paid holiday for Albemarle County Local Government employees.
Juneteenth is the oldest celebration of the end of slavery in the United States and occurs each year on June 19. On that date in 1865, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, heard for the first time that the Civil War had ended and that the Emancipation Proclamation had made them free with its passage, two years earlier.
Juneteenth is a day for reflection on the evils of slavery and on the contributions that African Americans have made to this country.
“The observation of Juneteenth as an official county holiday is an important step in recognizing as a community that this is our shared history,” said Supervisor Ned Gallaway, chair of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors.
“Core customer service functions will remain open on Friday, June 19, due to the short-notice of Albemarle County’s observance of this holiday this year,” said Jeff Richardson, county executive.
For example, Community Development’s intake will remain open and staff ambassadors assisting residents with tax payments will be onsite on Friday.
In keeping with organizational policy, staff required to work on a holiday will either be allowed to take the holiday at a later date or receive compensation commensurate with the day’s work.
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