Last night, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney announced that he would be designating June 19 – Juneteenth – as an official city holiday. We applaud Mayor Kenney for this decision, which he described as “one small but meaningful step toward repairing the damages inflicted on Black Americans throughout our country’s history.” Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the date when Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas to ensure that enslaved people were freed – over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Lincoln.
We salute this development in the City of Philadelphia and will, in turn be observing Juneteenth. As such, all ASB virtual services and programs will be closed this Friday, June 19, 2020. We hope that you can use this time in any number of ways to support, learn more about, and honor the spirit of Juneteenth and the call for sustainable, meaningful change in our city, country, and around the globe.