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Nike to recognize Juneteenth as an annual paid holiday

Posted at 4:01 PM, Jun 11, 2020
and last updated 2020-06-11 17:01:16-04

Nike announced to its U.S. employees that it will be recognizing Juneteenth as an annual paid holiday starting next Friday.

Juneteenth is recognized as the day that the Emancipation Proclamation was read to enslaved African Americans in Texas.

The information was released to employees in an internal memo from CEO John Donahue. Donahue noted in the memo that recognizing the day is a “important opportunity is to better commemorate and celebrate Black history and culture.”

The memo also included plans for the company to offer a diversity education program to all of its employees and have "representation goals" to diversify the brand further. Nike's move follows the announcements of Twitter and Square to also recognize Juneteenth as a company holiday.