Juneteenth Now An Official City Holiday In Duncanville

DUNCANVILLE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - The Duncanville City Council has adopted Juneteenth as a City holiday.

"I was pleased to make the motion and join the rest of the Council in a unanimous vote to adopt Juneteenth as an official City holiday," said Councilmember Cooks. "It's my hope that our community and staff will reflect upon Black history in America and its contribution to our City of Champions. I also hope the takeaway from that reflection gives us purpose to work toward continued freedom and economic prosperity for individuals of all races and cultures. And that we all can work together to improve upon this nation's promise for current and future generations."

Juneteenth is also a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of African-American slaves. The item was added to the meeting agenda at the request of Mark D. Cooks, Councilmember for Duncanville District 4. After a presentation by the City's Human Resources Director, which included data on the percentage of Texas cities currently observing (4.8%), considering observing (54.0%), and not observing (41.3%) Juneteenth, the City Council voted unanimously to adopt June 19th as the City's 12th recognized holiday.

Juneteenth commemorates the date of June 19, 1865, when federal troops arrived in Galveston to take control of the state two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed legislation making June 19th a federal holiday.

Duncanville will begin officially observing the holiday on Monday, June 20, 2022.