Loudoun To Observe Juneteenth As Official Holiday Starting Friday

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — Loudoun County announced Wednesday that its government administrative offices will be closed Friday, June 19 in observance of Juneteenth, a day after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said he will propose legislation to make Juneteenth an official state holiday.

Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 when news of the Emancipation Proclamation finally made it to the slave-holding state of Texas. Union soldiers, led by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, arrived at Galveston with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free.

While Loudoun's government offices will be closed Friday for Juneteenth, the Loudoun County Courthouse will be open.

The addition of Juneteenth to the holiday schedule is in accordance with the county’s practice of following Virginia’s holiday schedule, the county said. On Tuesday, Northam said he will give every executive branch employee this Friday off as a paid holiday and will work with the state legislature to pass a law making the day an official state holiday.

Loudoun County employees who staff essential 24-hour county operations and other essential services will work as scheduled.

Loudoun County Public Schools also announced that Friday will be a paid holiday for its employees in honor of Juneteenth.

"Given our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and with the full support of the entire Loudoun County School Board, I am pleased to announce that LCPS will join the Commonwealth of Virginia in designating Juneteenth (June 19, 2020) as a paid division holiday for 2020 for all staff members who are scheduled to work," LCPS Superintendant Eric Williams said Wednesday in a statement.