Fort Worth City Council votes to make Juneteenth a paid city holiday

Moments before the Fort Worth City Council voted unanimously Aug. 10 to make Juneteenth a paid city holiday, Council Member Gyna Bivens held up a book and addressed longtime civic leader Opal Lee, who was in attendance.

The book was “Juneteenth: A Celebration of Freedom” by Charles A. Taylor.

“I just wanted to show you something that you were taking around the city probably a decade ago ... educating the public about Juneteenth,” Bivens said, referring to Lee’s enduring efforts in promoting the significance of the date both locally and nationally

Juneteenth honors the day in 1865 when Union Gen. Gordon Granger came to Galveston to announce the liberation of enslaved people in Texas—more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation became official in 1863.

In June, President Joe Biden signed a bill designating Juneteenth, or June 19, a federal holiday. Following Tuesday’s vote by City Council, it will also be a paid municipal holiday in Fort Worth for its roughly 7,000 city employees.

Lee, who was present in Washington D.C. in June when Biden signed the federal holiday legislation, also addressed City Council just before the vote was taken.

“I just want to say thank you ... and just know that we’ve got [more] work to do,” Lee said.