Portland will formally recognize June 19, or Juneteenth, as a paid holiday, Mayor Ted Wheeler announced Tuesday.
The Portland City Council plans to adopt an ordinance Wednesday to establish June 19 as a day of recognition of black American history and give employees a paid day off to engage in remembrance and action, Wheeler said in a statement.
“We are suggesting that City of Portland employees spend the holiday getting educated on the white supremacy that was foundational to American culture,” the statement said. “The objectives of the day are to grieve, listen, learn, engage and heal.”
Juneteenth celebrates when the last slaves found out about the Emancipation Proclamation on June 19, 1865. The holiday commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S.
The ordinance will also include a formal apology for the how black people have been treated in Portland and the U.S., the mayor said.
“When Oregon was founded as a state in 1857, its constitution explicitly banned Black people from visiting, living and owning property here,” his statement said. “To this day, navigating life as a Black American in our city and country does not come with the same privileges experienced by others.”
- Madison Smalstig l msmalstig@oregonian.com l @madi_smals l
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