Nike joins other companies to observe Juneteenth as a paid holiday

(KYMA, KECY) - Nike is adding June 19, also known as the holiday Juneteenth, to its official paid company vacation list.

The sportswear giant is joining a large number of businesses that revealed this week that they are making Juneteenth, the oldest recognized U.S. end of slavery anniversary, an annual company holiday. In addition, Twitter, Square, the National Football League and Vox Media intend to do the same.

Juneteenth honors the day in 1865 when, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, Union soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas. Major General Gordon Granger of the Union Army then informed enslaved African Americans that the Civil War had ended and that slavery had been abolished.

According to CNN, Companies' acknowledgment of Juneteenth is a good first step, said Meredith Clark, an assistant professor of media studies at the University of Virginia.

"It is a nice symbolic gesture," Clark said. "I'm never going to frown at a company recognizing a day that is culturally important to so many Americans, really to all of us. But at the same time I want to see that sort of action matched with commitment to changing the culture inside these organizations."

Nike's announcement follows a similar commitment by competitor Adidas to fill at least 30% of their new positions with black or Latinx workers.