One Planet will observe Juneteenth — June 19 — as a company holiday.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the date Union soldiers informed enslaved black people in Galveston, Texas that they were free —  more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed on Jan. 1, 1863 by Abraham Lincoln.  

First celebrated in 1866, Juneteenth — also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day — is the oldest commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. On this day we pay tribute to the perseverance, determination, and sacrifice it took to achieve emancipation, and we commit ourselves to ending ongoing institutional and systemic oppression.

It is about time we give Juneteenth the rightful reverence it deserves — this is the true independence date in American history on which ALL people were granted freedom.

On this day, One Planet employees have a paid day off.

We must challenge ourselves to engage in service, no matter how small, so that we will eventually be able to heal the racial wounds in this country. Serving humanity is the only way to bring people together.

Juneteenth was just the beginning of change in America, but it is not the conclusion - we still have a long road ahead of us in building a better future based on equality, justice and love.