COLUMBUS—Columbus Metropolitan Library’s (CML) Board of Trustees yesterday unanimously voted to designate Juneteenth as an official holiday. Beginning in 2022, CML will close all 23 of its locations every June 19 to mark the day in 1865 that thousands of enslaved people in Texas learned of the end of the Civil War and of their emancipation.
In June, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill to designate Juneteenth as a federal holiday. The measure passed in the U.S. House of Representatives with overwhelming support, and President Biden signed the legislation into law on June 17, remarking:
“By making Juneteenth a federal holiday, all Americans can feel the power of this day, and learn from our history, and celebrate progress, and grapple with the distance we’ve come, (and) the distance we have to travel.”
If June 19 falls on a weekend, CML will observe the holiday on a Friday or Monday.
