{"id":8150,"date":"2020-06-17T17:31:59","date_gmt":"2020-06-17T21:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/?p=8150"},"modified":"2021-03-10T11:46:15","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T16:46:15","slug":"brands-wake-up-juneteenth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/originals\/brands-wake-up-juneteenth\/","title":{"rendered":"Brands Wake Up to Juneteenth"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

Yes, you\u2019re hearing a lot more about Juneteenth this year. For some, the holiday may be a recent discovery. But it is the oldest nationally-celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, dating back to 1865. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was in that year, on June 19th<\/a>, that Major General Gordon Granger led the Union soldiers into Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. These slaves were the last in the Confederacy to discover their freedom, and the discovery actually came two and a half years after President Lincoln\u2019s Emancipation Proclamation, which went into effect in early 1863.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For over 155 years, Black people in the US have heralded Juneteenth as a day of freedom. Given this year\u2019s events\u2014the protests in response to Black people murdered by police, living conditions of the poor being further degraded by the pandemic\u2014it is getting overdue recognition. Juneteenth marks the very beginning of the movement for equality that is progressing before us today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although most states (plus the District of Columbia) have passed legislation recognizing Juneteenth, it\u2019s not yet a national holiday. But some notable brands and community groups aren\u2019t waiting for government recognition to commemorate it. Companies like Twitter, Vox, Buzzfeed, Ogilvy, VSCO, Nike, Adobe, ZocDoc, and more are helping improve awareness for this critically important holiday by giving their employees the day off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohammad Anwar, CEO of Houston-based digital agency Softway, explained<\/a> his rationale for recognizing Juneteenth in a social media post. \u201cAs we continue to learn and grow as an organization, it has become clear to me that more must be done to celebrate POC in every way we can,\u201d he wrote. \u201cAs a small step forward – and forevermore – Softway will recognize Juneteenth as a US Holiday so our team can take time off to reflect, learn, and collectively celebrate the end of slavery in the United States.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hella Creative, a collective of Bay Area friends & family that banded together to support one another at the height of COVID-19, created an initiative called Hella Juneteenth to educate the advertising, tech, and media industries on the holiday. Not only has the collective created a lighthouse of educational resources<\/a> and a database of companies who will recognize the holiday<\/a>, it\u2019s also done the legwork for employees to get their companies to do the same<\/a>. The group has made it easier than ever for individuals to contribute to a lasting change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n