White House Washington District of Columbia
Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.

Why You Might Suddenly Have a Day Off Tomorrow and Enjoy a Three-Day Weekend.

Joseph Biden — who is the current president of the United States — signed legislation earlier today on the afternoon of Thursday, June 17, 2021 officially commemorating June 19 as an official annual national holiday effective immediately to commemorate Juneteenth, which marks the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Texas to ensure that slaves were freed and that slavery ended once and for all

Why You Might Suddenly Have a Day Off Tomorrow and Enjoy a Three-Day Weekend.

…and because June 19 falls on a Saturday this year, the first occurrence of this new federal holiday will officially be observed tomorrow, Friday, June 18, 2021, according to the Office of Personnel Management of the United States — meaning that most federal employees have the day off; and many of them now have 44 paid days off annually.

Employers who are not part of the federal government of the United States may also be offering its employees a day off tomorrow.

The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act is the first new official legal federal holiday in the United States since the creation of Martin Luther King Junior Day in January of 1986…

…but unlike Martin Luther King Junior Day — which falls on the third Monday of every year and thus creates a three-day weekend — the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act will only provide a three-day weekend when June 19 falls on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday.

Summary

This new holiday seems to counter the wishes of the board of education in Randolph in New Jersey, which proposed taking all school holidays; removing their official names such as Christmas and Memorial Day; and simply calling them Days Off — but I digress.

Speaking of a day off, what do you intend to do tomorrow should you have the day off? Perhaps travel for the weekend?

Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.

  1. I’m working tomorrow. My company doesn’t observe most Federal holidays and while slavery in America was disgusting and the ending of slavery is something to celebrate, it’s no more deserving of being a Federal holiday than many other days of remembrance that are not holidays. If I understand correctly, at least one state this year stopped schools closing on a certain religious holiday, which I don’t have an issue with provided there is consistency. This Federal holiday is not a display of consistency because there are persecuted races in America that don’t desire or get Federal holidays for what they have been through.

  2. I object to Juneteenth National Independence Day. I support Juneteeth. It is not National Independence Day. That is July 4th. Unless we as a country want to go overboard and call all holidays like that:
    New Years National Independence Day
    Martin Luther King’s Birthday National Independence Day
    Presidents National Independence Day
    Memorial National Independence Day
    Labor National Independence Day
    Veterans National Independence Day
    Christmas National Independence Day

    Just like the words “International Airport” is over used and abused. Like Fort Wayne International Airport. Spokane International Airport. Way over used. Heathrow doesn’t need “International”. Use of international is mainly for sorry and tiny airports to pretend they are big.

    1. The official name of the holiday is Juneteenth National Independence Day. It will most likely go by Juneteenth. Just like Independence Day normally goes by July 4th, or the 4th of July.

      Airports use International because they have at least one flight to another country – hence International to differentiate it from a Regional airport. A Regional airport might have many more flights, and be in a larger city, but can’t claim the International status, as it has no flight outside the United States. I live in Madison, WI and while we are MUCH bigger (population and number of flights) than say, Windsor Locks, CT, we are a regional airport, and they have Bradley International Airport.

      1. Understated elegance is better.
        Dallas Fort Worth Regional Airport (though DFW International is well deserved)
        LaGuardia Airport (not New York LaGuardia International Airport even though LGA does have international flights)
        Heathrow Airport
        London City Airport
        Orly Airport (or Aeroport de Paris – Orly)

        I give an airport great respect if it has a lot of flights, long runway, nice terminal, or (slight weight) non-grandiose name. Fort Wayne International Airport is a travesty. Baer Field is much better or even a hypothetical Fort Wayne Baer Field.

  3. I’ll use the day to reflect on the fact that 13% of the population commits 52% of unprovoked violent crime and are responsible for filling our streets/schools/businesses/neighborhoods with low rap culture and thuggery. Slavery was wrong because it forced together groups that don’t belong. Imagine what life would be like without that one group: the lowest crime rates in the world, peace, tranquility, the lowest taxes in the world, full employment, and perfect schools. Our sons and daughters wouldn’t be throwing their honor and future away on rap culture. This applies to England, France, South Africa, the U.S. and everywhere that group is present. That group could not build the wheel even with picture directions.

    1. What a surprise that Brian “forehead” Cohen suppresses posts critical of him but doesn’t edit abject racism such as the above post?

      Looking at (your forehead) you Brian.

      1. The only comments I have ever “suppressed” in almost 15 years at The Gate is obvious “spam”, Ace Smithson.

      2. @Ace Smithson
        What comments could possibly have been suppressed?!

        Surely you have seen Brian weather countless attacks here – yes, of his forehead but also of his beliefs, politics, healthcare decisions, morality, and general value system – not always choosing to engage with the offensive comments but always allowing even his most vile of critics to take up residence on his blog.

        Instead of attacking the person offering an open platform, perhaps you should address the incredibly unkind words of the poster above?

    2. Be very, very careful for what you wish.

      Most of the people in prison are men. So kill and deport all men? No!

      Most criminals have a psychiatric defect even though they may not be officially insane. What sane person would kill another person? It is not the race but the psychiatric problem. Sometimes bad parents cause wacky kids that are crooks.

    3. Apart from the racist nature of your comments, they are simply not valid theories. You can’t know how things would have been had there not been slavery here. All wouldn’t have been well. Some of the worst issues in this country right now are caused by a lack of values that have absolutely nothing to do with the color of anyone’s skin.

  4. This obsession with the U.S. government marking interest groups with federal holidays is senseless.

    Yes, slavery was a vile process. It needed to end. Point taken. But atrocities have been committed against multiple groups of people. There are as many put-upon persons as there are days in the year. The decision to cherry-pick which warrants a federal holiday is simply pandering.

    Leave it up to individual companies to decide what paid holidays are offered. Adding an alarming 44th paid day off to the federal work calendar offers no good purpose – it reduces government efficiency and insults those groups who do not get special treatment.

  5. Oh, goody the federal employees get 44 paid days off annually. Mighty Big of the Big Guy to lower productivity in the nation’s least productive group. Other than that Juneteenth is OK as Biden is just following the lead of Texas, which should cause Democrat’s eye to bulge out and their throats to gag.

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