New York Times Makes Juneteenth a Holiday Following Protests

(Bloomberg) -- The New York Times has made Juneteenth a paid holiday for employees, becoming the latest company to recognize the anniversary following the protests over racial prejudice.

Juneteenth, which takes place on June 19, commemorates the day in 1865 on which enslaved people in Texas belatedly learned that slavery in the U.S. had been abolished.

The Times’ decision to give its staff that day off is another sign that companies are becoming more sensitive to the experience of black Americans following the recent unrest sparked by George Floyd’s death.

Vox Media Inc., Twitter Inc., Nike Inc. and the National Football League have all announced in recent days that they will make Juneteenth a company holiday. Facebook Inc., meanwhile, has said it plans to cancel meetings that day for a “day of learning” about the experience of black Americans.

The Times had taken the history of black Americans especially seriously before the protests. Last month, it won a Pulitzer Prize for an essay by Nikole Hannah-Jones that was part of the paper’s 1619 Project, which explored slavery’s role in the history of America.

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