Nike Will Recognize Juneteenth as Paid Holiday

Employees at Nike in Pasadena will get a paid holiday on June 19 according to CEO John Donahoe.

In a company-wide memo sent to employees on Thursday, Donahoe announced the company would recognize Juneteenth as a paid holiday for U.S. employees moving forward.

Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19 and commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. It is not an official national holiday but Dorsey feels it should be.

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.

On June 19, 1865, two and a half years after emancipation, Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the slaves there were free.

The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the slaves there due to the lack of Union troops there 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.

Donahue, who became CEO in January, called Juneteenth an “important opportunity to better commemorate and celebrate Black history and culture.”

Officials at Twitter have also announced they would be off with pay on Juneteenth.

“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,” tweeted Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter.

“Another important opportunity is to better commemorate and celebrate Black history and culture. As many of you may know, next Friday, June 19, is Juneteenth, a day commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S. Starting this year and going forward, Nike will recognize Juneteenth as an annual paid holiday in the U.S.”