Juneteenth is an opportunity for America to reckon with its racial wealth gap

On Thursday, President Joe Biden signed into law a bill to recognize Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Juneteenth, which Black Americans have been celebrating since 1866, commemorates the end of legalized slavery in Texas on June 19, 1865, and grew into a broader celebration honored by Black communities throughout the country.

Over the past year, public interest in Juneteenth has significantly grown and many large companies have begun to provide employees with a paid day off (or reduced workload) to coincide with the holiday.

In a statement from JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, the company’s CEO, justified the decision to close all Chase branches early on June 19 as an effort to demonstrate “deep respect for the suffering that the Black community has endured over hundreds of years.” In a Twitter statement, Lyft explained the company’s decision to start an annual celebration on Juneteenth as “one step in our ongoing journey toward racial equality at Lyft, and in this country.”