Juneteenth 2022 combined

This state and federal holiday represents a small piece of securing racial equity for Black Americans in every part of our nation.

Juneteenth is the first federal holiday attained since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established in 1983.

Making Juneteenth an official holiday affords all our employees a chance to honor the immense contributions of Black and African Americans to the history and culture of our nation and region, and to further understand our nation’s history of racial injustice, and reaffirm our commitment to building a racially-just future.

While many people are celebrating the legislative victory in recognizing Juneteenth as a state holiday, the recognition, which was 14 years in the making, did not come without a fight.

More than just a day off for municipal employees, Juneteenth is a commemoration of breaking down barriers and opening up opportunity.

On paper Black people were free, but in reality, in the physical world, Black people found themselves, particularly during the Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras in the South, living in a state of oppression and some were even in a perpetual state of servitude.

Eddie Smith, an illustrator and concept designer, was chosen to design this year’s cover page for the Seattle Medium Newspaper’s Juneteenth Edition.

As we celebrate Juneteenth, I strive to keep the ancestors’ dreams of freedom, equity, and opportunity alive in my space of influence - public education.

While creating a national holiday to commemorate an event of significance, Congress ignored/denied the most important and fundamental right and protection available to African-Americans by failing to enact voter protections or justice in policing. 

While the Emancipation Proclamation that promised freedom to our ancestors still eludes us as their descendants and relatives, what is also true is that against all odds Black people have continued to find joy and hope amongst the despair.