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Brown Co to recognize Juneteenth as paid holiday

By Greg Bebermeyer

10/20/2023

Brown County Courthouse

(KNZA)--Brown County will recognize Juneteenth as a paid holiday for county employees.

The Brown County Commission took the action this week on a 2-1 vote, with Commission Chairman Bill Pollock casting the dissenting vote.

County Attorney Kevin Hill, noting Kansas' history of being a safe haven for African Americans migrating from the south following the end of the Civil War, advocated for the action.

It will be among ten paid holidays the county will observe in 2024.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day the last enslaved Americans received word that President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation to abolish slavery more than 2 years after the end of the Civil War.

Governor Kelly earlier this month announced that Kansas would join 28 states, and the District of Columbia, in designating Juneteenth as a state holiday.

In 2021, President Biden signed legislation to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.

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