Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
38 <br /> 1 Many people in the United States recognize Juneteenth as the holiday that celebrates <br /> 2 Emancipation Day, the day in history when the last state ratified the Emancipation Proclamation. <br /> 3 This date marks the time when African Americans in Texas received notice from President <br /> 4 Abraham Lincoln that slavery had been abolished, a declaration that was codified in the 13th <br /> 5 Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America. June 19th also marks the day <br /> 6 that African Americans in the southern states exercised independence from those who <br /> 7 benefitted from their labors in the founding of this nation. <br /> 8 <br /> 9 The journey of African Americans represents both great achievements and great hardship, and <br /> 10 the nation continues to witness the injustice of the African American journey. This injustice has <br /> 11 existed far too long. This Juneteenth celebration weighs heavily on hearts and minds in the <br /> 12 aftermath of the murder of George Floyd in 2020, and is a reminder of others who have not <br /> 13 been treated equally under the law. <br /> 14 <br /> 15 The Governor of the State of North Carolina encourages people to observe Juneteenth as an <br /> 16 opportunity to reflect, rejoice, and plan for a brighter future as society continues to address <br /> 17 racial injustices. Juneteenth is not a federal holiday, but many states and the District of <br /> 18 Columbia recognize it as a state or ceremonial holiday. <br /> 19 <br /> 20 Juneteenth will be observed on June 191h each year. If June 191h falls on a Saturday, the holiday <br /> 21 will be observed on Friday, June 18th, and if June 19th falls on a Sunday, the holiday will be <br /> 22 observed on June 20th <br /> 23 <br /> 24 FINANCIAL IMPACT: <br /> 25 The total annual cost for FY2020-2021 for permanent salaries, social security, Medicare and <br /> 26 retirement is $63,733,708. A daily cost of$245,129. The financial impact of adding an extra <br /> 27 holiday (changing from a regular workday to a holiday) is on average approximately $61,000. <br /> 28 <br /> 29 Commissioner Price read the resolution: <br /> 30 <br /> 31 RES-2020-045 <br /> 32 <br /> 33 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> 34 RESOLUTION DESIGNATING JUNETEENTH AS AN <br /> 35 OFFICIAL COUNTY PAID HOLIDAY <br /> 36 <br /> 37 WHEREAS, on January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation <br /> 38 Proclamation, a document that declared: "all persons held as slaves within any State or <br /> 39 designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United <br /> 40 States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free;" and <br /> 41 <br /> 42 WHEREAS, the Emancipation Proclamation, primarily a wartime measure, intentionally <br /> 43 excluded people in the slave-holding border-states and the areas of the Confederacy that <br /> 44 already had come under Union control; and <br /> 45 <br /> 46 WHEREAS, on April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to United States General <br /> 47 Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia, and on April 26, 1865, US Major- <br /> 48 General W. T. Sherman and General Joseph E. Johnston finalized the terms of surrender at the <br /> 49 Bennett Farm House in Orange County [now Durham]; and <br /> 50 <br />