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Minneapolis city employees will receive extra paid time off to mark Juneteenth, a holiday celebrating the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.
The city joins an increasing number of employers who are marking the holiday in the wake of George Floyd s death last year.
The City Council voted unanimously Friday to approve the change, and Mayor Jacob Frey has previously said he supports the effort.
The holiday is traditionally observed June 19. Although President Abraham Lincoln first signed the Emancipation Proclamation intended to free enslaved people in the Confederacy in 1863, it wasn t enforced in many places until after the Civil War ended in 1865.
Hennepin County and Minneapolis could both make Juneteenth an official holiday
Hennepin County is making Juneteenth an official holiday and the City of Minneapolis could do the same.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - As Hennepin County moves to make Juneteenth, the day that commemorates when the last U.S. slaves were told they were free back in 1885, an official holiday, Minneapolis city leaders could follow suit as calls grow to make the day a paid holiday. This is a holiday of significance to all Americans, said Minneapolis City Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins.
In Minneapolis, City Council Vice President Jenkins is leading the charge. This plays a significant role in our efforts to be a much more equitable city, said Jenkins.
As part of a push to bring more affordable housing to the county, the Hennepin County Board this week approved a new round of funding to support more than two
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