REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
May 24, 2022
FROM
CURT HAGMAN, Chairman and Fourth District Supervisor, Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
Title
Adopt June 19th as an Observed County Holiday to Commemorate Juneteenth
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Resolution to adopt June 19th of each year to commemorate Juneteenth as an observed County holiday.
(Presenter: Curt Hagman, Chairman and Fourth District Supervisor, 387-4866)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Promote the Countywide Vision.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this action is not anticipated to require the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). Costs associated with the additional holiday are expected to be funded within existing departmental budget allocations.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Approval of this resolution will formally proclaim June 19th of each year as Juneteenth and a County Holiday.
June 19th is the date in 1865 when slaves in Galveston, Texas were informed that the Civil War had ended and that they were free. Although the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed more than two years earlier, countless Americans continued to be held as slaves. Therefore, June 19th - Juneteenth - has become the date that represents the true and final end of slavery in the United States and long-awaited freedom for Black Americans.
Congress recently approved legislation, which was signed into law on June 17, 2021 by President Biden, designating Juneteenth National Independence Day as a legal public holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.
This celebration at this time of year holds special significance for San Bernardino County because it was on June 23, 2020 that the Board of Supervisors (Board) officially declared racism a public health crisis. On that date, the Board also added equity as an element of the Countywide Vision and established an Equity Element Group to address the underlying causes of disparities in various key aspects of community life.
The Board is committed to making equity a focus of everything it does and looks forward to continuing to build a prosperous and healthy County that creates opportunity and an outstanding quality of life for everyone. The County joins with all of its employees in celebrating Juneteenth and taking a moment to imagine what it must have been like for people who had spent generations in bondage to suddenly learn they were finally free.
PROCUREMENT
Not Applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Cynthia O’Neill, Principal Assistant County Counsel, 387-5455) on May 16, 2022; Finance (Sofia Almeida, Administrative Analyst, 387-4919) on May 13, 2022; and County Finance and Administration (Matthew Erickson, County Chief Financial Officer, 387-5423) on May 16, 2022.