Americans will celebrate Juneteenth on Wednesday, marking the day when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free.
For generations, Black Americans have recognized the end of one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history with joy, in the form of parades, street festivals, musical performances or cookouts.
The U.S. government was slow to embrace the occasion — it was only in 2021 that President Joe Biden signed a bill passed by Congress to set aside Juneteenth as a federal holiday.
Here's what to know about this federal holiday and what it mean for U.S. workers on June 19 this year.
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Are businesses open on Juneteenth?
Most private businesses, including national retailers, will be open on Juneteenth. Big box retailers like Costco, Walmart and Target will be open on Juneteenth.
What's open and what's closed on Juneteenth in San Diego County?
Local
CLOSED:
All San Diego County offices, family resource centers, libraries and animal shelters will be closed to the public on Wednesday, June 19.
All County public health clinics will be closed on Wednesday. County offices will resume normal business hours on Thursday.
Parking meters, time restrictions for parking on streets, yellow zones and posted street sweeping routes within the city of San Diego will not be enforced. All other parking violations will be enforced. Parking rules on Port of San Diego property and in different cities may vary.
The Tecolote Canyon Nature Center will be closed. City swimming pools and city recreation centers will also be closed.
All public buildings in Balboa Park will be closed, including the Municipal Gym, Morley Field and Balboa Park Activity Center. Check with individual museums and other park attractions for their holiday schedules.
El Capitan, San Vicente, Hodges and Sutherland reservoirs will be closed. All other city reservoirs will be open. Barring inclement weather, Chollas Lake will be open.
Summer street sweeping of Mission Beach alleys will be temporarily halted on June 19. Weekly services will resume the following Wednesday, June 26, and continue through September.
The Development Services Department call center for appointments and inspection services will be closed. All other online services, including researching zoning information, submitting new project applications, resubmittals and payments will be available by going to sandiego.gov/DSD.
OPEN:
Law enforcement, emergency animal control response, and other essential services will remain open through the holiday, according to the County of San Diego.
Curbside trash, recyclables and organic waste will be collected as scheduled for customers served by the Environmental Services Department. Residents in other cities should check with their waste hauler for holiday service schedules.
San Diego's Miramar Landfill, Greenery and Recycling Center and the mattress collection site will be open. However, the city's container sales at 8353 Miramar Place will be closed.
City golf courses will be open during normal hours. Weekday rates apply. The Mission Trails Regional Park and Visitor Center, Tecolote Canyon Natural Park and all city skate parks will be open, as well as the Pacific Highlands Ranch Pump Track at 5977 Village Center Loop Road.
SOME OPEN/SOME CLOSED:
County parks, campgrounds and neighborhood day-use parks remain open 365 days a year. That being said, the following locations will be CLOSED on Wednesday:
- Fallbrook Community Center
- Lakeside Community Center
- Spring Valley Community Center
- Spring Valley Gymnasium
- 4S Ranch Recreation Office only (all parks will be open)
- Community Teen Centers
- Valley Center Community Hall and Adams Park Pool
Camping reservations can always be made online at the County's Online Camping Reservations web page, but no staff from the Department of Parks and Recreation's reservation phone line will be there to answer.
Is the post office open on Juneteenth?
The U.S. Postal Service will be closed on June 19, and there will be no mail deliveries.
Will I receive my UPS or FedEx package?
UPS and FedEx pickup and delivery services will be available and their store locations will be open on June 19, according to the companies' websites.
Will banks be open on Juneteenth?
The Federal Reserve System and the New York Stock Exchange will be closed on Wednesday, June 19.
Since most financial institutions follow the Fed's holiday schedule, the vast majority of banks are expected to be closed on Wednesday as well.
Are government offices closed on Juneteenth?
All federal agencies will be closed on Wednesday, including the DMV and Social Security Administration.
Most city and county of San Diego government offices will be closed Wednesday in observance of Juneteenth. In the city of San Diego, all administrative offices will be closed.
Will federal employees get the day off?
Most Federal, state and city employees get the off. Many private employers give workers the day off to observe the holiday.
What is Juneteenth?
The celebration started with the freed enslaved people of Galveston, Texas. Although the Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people in the South in 1863, it could not be enforced in many places until after the end of the Civil War in 1865.
Laura Smalley, freed from a plantation near Bellville, Texas, remembered in a 1941 interview that her former master had gone to fight in the Civil War and came home without telling his slaves what had happened.
“Old master didn’t tell, you know, they was free,” Smalley said at the time. “I think now they say they worked them, six months after that. Six months. And turn them loose on the 19th of June. That’s why, you know, we celebrate that day.”
Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger and his troops arrived at Galveston on June 19, 1865, with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. That was more than two months after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia.
Granger delivered General Order No. 3, which said: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.”
The next year, the now-free people started celebrating Juneteenth in Galveston. Its observance has continued around the nation and the world since. Events include concerts, parades and readings of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Why is it called Juneteenth?
The term Juneteenth is a portmanteau of the words "June" and "nineteenth." The holiday has also been called Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day.
