Article republished from the Louisiana Illuminator
by Julie O’Donoghue, Louisiana Illuminator
June 17, 2024
Gov. Jeff Landry will close state offices Wednesday in observance of Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.
Landry issued an executive order at the end of last month directing the heads of state agencies and institutions to honor the day off in conjunction with the federal government.“Juneteenth Day has been celebrated as a special day of celebration for freedom, and the celebration of this day has grown into a day of learning, sharing, and giving respect to the history, culture, and achievements of African-Americans,” reads the proclamation signed by the governor.
Juneteenth honors June 19, 1865, the day enslaved people in Galveston, Texas learned from Union soldiers that they were free. The news reached them two months after the end of the Civil War, and 2 ½ years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.
In 2021, the Louisiana Legislature unanimously passed a law that declared the third Saturday in June a state holiday in honor of Juneteenth. That year, former Gov. John Bel Edwards also started issuing proclamations giving state workers time off during the workweek for the celebration.
The weekday observance has coincided with the federal Juneteenth National Independence Day, which was also started in 2021. Juneteenth was the first new federal holiday created since 1983, when Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established.
Juneteenth is not listed in Louisiana law as a state holiday where state employees must be given time off, like New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Mardi Gras, Good Friday, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The governor has flexibility to declare other state holidays through a proclamation, however. Like Edwards, Landry this year decided to take action to make Juneteenth a workweek holiday.
