Darien Selectmen To Consider Observing Juneteenth As Town Holiday

DARIEN, CT — During its next regularly scheduled meeting on Oct. 2, the Darien Board of Selectmen will consider a proposal to observe Juneteenth as a town holiday. Town hall would be closed.

Juneteenth was declared a federal holiday in 2021. For the first time in the state's history, Connecticut observed Juneteenth as a legal state holiday this year.

The day marks the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in Texas on June 19, 1865, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation.

Union Army General Gordon Granger delivered the news to those still enslaved in Galveston, Texas, that they were free.

The selectmen meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. The board is expected to go into executive session before adjourning to open session and taking up the posted agenda.

The meeting will be held at Darien Town Hall and will be broadcast on Darien TV 79.