Title
Resolution to Approve the City of Ann Arbor’s Operational Adoption of Juneteenth as a Recognized and Commemorated Annual Holiday (8 Votes Required)
Memorandum
Juneteenth, also known as Juneteenth Independence Day, is an American holiday that commemorates the June 19,1865 announcement of the abolition of slavery in the state of Texas and other parts of the southwest. Juneteenth is recognized as a state holiday or a special day of observance in 45 states. It is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States of America.
The attached Resolution authorizes the City Administrator to execute the third Saturday in June as a City holiday to celebrate Juneteenth beginning June 19, 2021. City leadership and employees will observe the Juneteenth celebration the Friday before the City holiday. City Hall buildings will be closed due to observance of the holiday.
Union Impact: The City will need to work with the unions to implement the holiday.
Budget/Fiscal Impact: The estimated cost to add this holiday in FY21 is up to $85,266. Of this amount, $71,563 will be funded from the General Fund and the remaining amount ($13,703) shall be funded from the Enterprise Funds
Staff
Prepared by: Sharie Sell, Human Resources Services Partner
Reviewed by: Thomas Guajardo, Director of HR & Labor Relations
Approved by: Tom Crawford, City Administrator
Body
Whereas, Juneteenth is a holiday marking the end of slavery in the United States, following its establishment on the North American mainland in 1619;
Whereas, Juneteenth is officially celebrated in the State of Michigan;
Whereas, United Sates Army Major General Gordon Granger landed at the port city of Galveston, Texas in June 1865, following the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia on April 9, 1865;
Whereas, Major General Granger announced on June 19, 1865, General Order No. 3, that reads in part:
"The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor…”
Whereas, The June 19, 1865 General Order No. 3 was preceded on January 1, 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation decreeing persons held as slaves in designated states, among them Texas, to be “henceforward” free;
Whereas, This two-and-a-half year time chasm between the Emancipation Proclamation and General Order No. 3 became the first of many subsequent instances of the aphorism that “justice delayed is justice denied”;
Whereas, Following General Granger’s General Order #3, June 19th (Juneteenth) became recognized by enslaved persons and their descendants as the date of final emancipation;
Whereas, Since then, as the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of institutional slavery in America, the celebration of Juneteenth has persisted into the 21st century and has come to honor the strength, endurance, and dignity of the African Americans subjected to the atrocity of American slavery; to celebrate the unknowable joy of their liberation; and to highlight the centuries long and incomplete struggle to redeem the American creed of equality for all;
Whereas, The “Justice delayed is justice denied” principle highlighted in the events surrounding Juneteenth’s origins lies at the heart of the country’s current national reckoning;
Whereas, It is right that the entire Ann Arbor community join together to acknowledge the central and shameful role of slavery and government-structured racism in our history, and the moral imperative that we do all we can, resolved and united, to counter slavery’s enduring legacy of race-based discrimination and institutional racism;
Whereas, This enduring legacy manifests itself starkly in the City of Ann Arbor, and greater Washtenaw County;
Whereas, The candid acknowledgment of this history and this present is necessary if we, as a nation, state, or city, are to be successful in our effort to build a truly equitable, diverse community that exemplifies and promotes the fundamental American values of freedom, equality, liberty, and justice;
Whereas, The City appreciates and acknowledges the Ann Arbor Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for its consecutive annual celebration of Juneteenth at Wheeler Park beginning in 1994;
Whereas, The City looks forward to continued collaboration with the Ann Arbor Branch of the NAACP and others in annually commemorating the Juneteenth celebration event; and
Whereas, The City further encourages all community members to participate in Juneteenth to celebrate the countless contributions of African Americans to our nation’s and community’s history and culture, and to continue to promote diversity, equity, and a strong sense of community in Ann Arbor;
RESOLVED, City Council approves Juneteenth as a city holiday;
RESOLVED, The third Saturday in June shall be recognized and commemorated as the day of celebration for Juneteenth;
RESOLVED, City leadership and staff will observe Juneteenth the Friday prior to the formal, recognized day of celebration for Juneteenth on the third Saturday of June each year and that City Hall shall be closed on that day, and;
RESOLVED, That the City Administrator be authorized to take all necessary administrative actions to implement this resolution.
Sponsored by: Mayor Taylor and Councilmembers Disch, Griswold, Radina, Song, Ramlawi, Grand, Briggs, Eyer, Nelson, and Hayner