Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said the Juneteenth holiday would be for celebration, education and connection.
Photo: anushree fadnavis/ReutersTwitter Inc. and Square Inc. Chief Executive Jack Dorsey said the companies will honor Juneteenth as a holiday in the U.S., as American corporations grapple with ways to show support for black employees and celebrate racial diversity.
Juneteenth, which is celebrated annually on June 19, is a day commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S. Its roots trace back to 1865, when Union Army Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Texas and spread news that the Civil War had ended and slavery along with it. Though President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation abolishing slavery more than two years earlier, the practice still endured in parts of the country through the end of the war.
Most U.S. states and several major cities observe Juneteenth as a holiday.
“Countries and regions around the world have their own days to celebrate emancipation, and we will do the work to make those dates company holidays everywhere we are present,” Mr. Dorsey said on Twitter, adding that the day would be for celebration, education and connection.
A Twitter spokeswoman declined to give more details on the move beyond the CEO’s tweets.
The social-media platform and mobile-payments company join a chorus of corporations that have announced financial support for efforts connected with racial justice and made statements against racism and police misconduct. The move from Square and Twitter comes after two weeks of protests since a widely circulated video showed the May 25 killing of George Floyd in police custody.
Vox Media Inc. also said in a company memo Tuesday that it will observe Juneteenth as a company holiday. “We hope employees can use the day in your own way for reflection and action as well as a mental break from work,” said CEO Jim Bankoff.
The media company will also launch a fellowship program with historically black colleges and universities and offer antiracism resources and training to its employees.
Other tech companies, such as Cisco Systems Inc., Alphabet Inc., Uber Technologies Inc. and Intel Corp., have pledged millions of dollars in donations to organizations such as the Equal Justice Initiative, the Black Lives Matter Foundation and the NAACP. Large tech firms and Silicon Valley at large have been targets of criticism in recent years for the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in employment and leadership ranks.
Last week, tobacco products maker Altria Group Inc. said it will also celebrate Juneteenth as a corporate holiday to give employees time for “personal reflection and healing.” Altria said it will donate $5 million to support national and local organizations that address racial inequality.
Write to Kimberly Chin at kimberly.chin@wsj.com
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