Following worldwide protests after George Floyd’s killing, many local companies and organizations have decided to make Juneteenth a holiday and give their employees the day off.

Juneteenth is a nod to June 19, 1865, the day enslaved people in the farthest parts of the Confederacy finally learned that the Emancipation Proclamation had been passed two and a half years earlier. Many Black communities in the U.S. mark the day by celebrating culture and connection, though it’s not recognized as a national holiday.

Gov. Tom Wolf designated it a statewide holiday, Juneteenth National Freedom Day, in 2019. This Tuesday, Mayor Jim Kenney designated Juneteenth a city holiday, and City offices and facilities will be closed to the public. Across the U.S., leaders at corporations and big tech companies such as Nike, Twitter and Spotify have declared June 19 a paid day off.

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