WEST CHESTER – Chester County commissioners will mark the celebration of Juneteenth, the day set for commemorating the unofficial end of slavery in the United States, on Friday with a county proclamation and attendance at an event in West Chester hosted by a local black activist.
The county will not, however, follow the lead of the state and Montgomery County and declare the day a full work holiday for county employees. Instead, county employees will be allowed to take the day off as a “floating holiday,” akin to a religious holiday, such as Good Friday or Yom Kippur, or a civic holiday, such as Columbus Day, not recognized on the county’s official calendar.
County offices and courts will remain open.
On Tuesday, saying they embrace “diversity and inclusion,” Montgomery County commissioners announced that the neighboring county would mark Juneteenth as a holiday and close county offices, giving employees a day off. It is believed to be one of the first counties in the state to declare Juneteenth a paid county holiday; Juneteenth is not a federal or state holiday for non-governmental, private business workers.
“Montgomery County embraces diversity and inclusion and believes that all are valued and welcomed,” commissioners Chairwoman Dr. Valerie Arkoosh and Vice Chairman Kenneth E. Lawrence Jr. wrote in a memo sent to county employees. “Through mutual respect and understanding, we will work together to achieve equity and inclusion.”
Likewise, state employees under the governor’s jurisdiction will get a new holiday closure after Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday officially recognized Juneteenth. The June 19 celebration of the end of slavery was designated by Wolf last year as the Juneteenth National Freedom Day in Pennsylvania, though it hadn’t previously been a paid holiday for any state employees.
Those decisions come in the wake of numerous marches for racial justice by citizens in local communities from Philadelphia to West Chester to Downingtown to the Main Line, and other Black Lives Matter protests that followed the May 25 death of George Floyd while being forcibly restrained by a Minneapolis police officer, who placed his knee on the man’s neck.
The three county commissioners here – Democrats Marian Moskowitz and Josh Maxwell, and Republican Michelle Kichline – instead of declaring a full holiday, sent a message to the county’s 2,600 or so full- and part-time employees saying, “We maintain our pledge to work with other Chester County government leaders, community organizations and citizens to address the root of racial inequality and injustice here in Chester County, and where it is within our power, make necessary changes.
“In many respects, our nation has come a long way since that first ‘Juneteenth,'” the county said in its email, sent shortly after noon on Thursday. “But a closer look at modern history, and especially recent events, remind us that racial equality and justice have not been achieved. There are still many disparities that must be resolved.”
On Friday, the commissioners are expected to attend a rally event on the front steps of the Historic Chester County Courthouse organized by the Avondale-based Concerned Citizens Melanic Caucus.
The leader of that organization, Everett “TiJa” Butcher of West Chester, said in an interview Thursday that the event will be used to focus on the Juneteenth celebration, in the year since Wolf declared it a statewide event.
“It is a new holiday,” Butcher said. “Inclusion has not been done around here for a while, and 90 percent of the people in the county, in the country, don’t know it is a state holiday. People have to be educated.”
Asked whether the county should have allowed county workers to take the day off to celebrate the holiday, Butcher said yes.
“If you ask me, every county should do it,” he said. “We should recognize it. Period.”
The event in West Chester will feature a reading of the county’s proclamation, as well as speeches by state Secretary of Corrections John Edward Wetzel. Butcher said police officials from Coatesville and West Chester had been invited to attend as were other grassroots organizations. A planned light display that was to be part of the event had to be postponed until next Friday, June 26, because of the forecast for inclement weather, Butcher said.
The event Friday will be livestreamed on the CCMC-State of the Unity Forum page on Facebook as well as the pages of groups and entities associated with CCMC, Butcher said.
In the proclamation calling for a celebration of Juneteenth, the commissioners urged “all residents to mark this annual observance as an opportunity to unify everyone and recognize the importance of upholding a nation that embraces the self-evident truth that all people are created equal.
Noting that Pennsylvania was a leader in abolitionism and the first to pass an act doing away with slavery, the proclamation notes that Juneteenth, or Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, marked the official announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation, signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862, in Texas, one of the last slave states in the nation, on June 19, 1865.
“Chester County acknowledges and upholds the principles of freedom and equity, is dedicated to seeking diversity and inclusion within the community, and encourages leaders in every community in the nation and the world to take action to ensure justice and equality for everyone,” the proclamation reads.
To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.
