The embrace of American companies at the Juneteenth festivities is empty for many

As a diversity consultant, Dee Marshall teaches Wall Street banks how to become more hospitable jobs for people of color. She would think she would be delighted when her clients ask for help in planning the Juneteenth celebration.

Not so much, it turns out.

“Blacks aren’t excited about that,” said Marshall, executive director of the consulting group Diverse & Engaged.

After the murdered by police of George Floyd last year sparked mass protests and ignited a racial calculus in the United States, the American corporation adopted Juneteenth as a way to honor black Americans and demonstrate their commitment to diverse and inclusive jobs .

An unknown word dated June 19, Juneteenth, commemorates the day 1865 when Union Army General Gordon Granger marched to Galveston, Texas, to free the last black American slaves, months after the surrender of the Confederates in the Civil War and more than two years later. President Abraham Lincoln had formally declared an end to slavery.

While some black Americans appreciate Juneteenth’s late recognition in the United States for becoming a paid vacation, others, like Marshall, complain that it feels like an empty gesture, especially when many companies have yet to meet the requirements. promises of diversity made in full protest of Floyd.

“What is more significant for the population that is intended to honor it? I don’t think they’re very excited for a Juneteenth event to happen. They will be excited when there are real changes in the organization, ”Marshall said.

Still, Juneteenth is now a cornerstone of the racial justice efforts of many companies, with Lyft, Colgate and BP, among others, announcing their holiday adoption in the social impact and diversity reports.

According to a survey by business consultancy Mercer, about 9% of companies will retire from Juneteenth this year, compared to 55% for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Thursday President Joe Biden signed an invoice establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday, the 11th in the nation.

The campaign to establish MLK Day began shortly after the assassination of the civil rights leader in 1968 and he finally signed the law in 1983.

The debate over Juneteenth’s federal vacation status took place as the United States pondered how to remember its history of institutionalized racism. Republicans in 20 states have introduced legislation to limit the use of critical theory of race in public schools, an academic strategy used to examine institutions from a race perspective. Conservatives fear that the discussion about the U.S. legacy of discriminatory policies could fuel anti-American sentiments.

“Even today, as conservatives try to erase history with their attacks on critical race theory and understand the impacts of systemic racism, we are here recognizing the truth,” Ed Markey, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, wrote on Twitter earlier this week. “We will make #Juneteenth a federal holiday.”

Mark Anthony Neal, a professor of African American and African American studies at Duke University, noted that while black Americans in the southern and southwestern states mark the party with family reunions, cooking and blogging parties, “never had no national supporters “The assassination of Floyd in late May 2020.

“For a lot of companies, it was a little hanging fruit,” Neal said of Juneteenth’s elevation of companies. The date came last year, amid protests by Black Lives Matter, and in the same way that many companies were fighting to publicly address racism for the first time.

“If Juneteenth were in October, that wouldn’t happen,” Marshall said.

Several of the businesses that were among the first to designate Juneteenth for business holidays by providing a day off or offering overtime pay, including Nike, Square and Mastercard, said they planned to do the same this year.

But overall, the commemorations are noticeably more muted. General Motors, who last year held a nine-minute work stoppage (the time former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck), to honor Floyd on June 19. last year, he said his plans for this year included “volunteering and community engagement.”

Opponents to the holidays cited the economic cost of the lack of work. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican senator who locked Juneteenth legislation last year had estimated the cost at $ 600 million a year for federal employees alone. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management said most federal employees would take the new Junetenth vacation on Friday, as June 19 will fall on Saturday.

Dakasha Winton, a black executive who is the head of government relations for Tennessee’s BlueCross insurer BlueShield, said the educational approach of many Juneteenth corporate celebrations makes it worthwhile.

“Even if it’s the first time you’ve done something, at least you’re taking steps to do something, and that’s the key,” Winton said.

The New York Public Relations Group’s diversity working group, RF Binder, voted to add Juneteenth to the list of paid vacations and remove another 15th-century Italian explorer Christopher Columbus to make room for him.

“To give up Columbus Day for Juneteenth, there is something very significant,” said Amy Binder, executive president. “Columbus Day celebrates the Western world invading a country and withdrawing from Native Americans, and it may not be such a good concept.”

For Marshall, Juneteenth’s recognition is only significant for black employees when they are part of a cohesive plan for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“This day doesn’t just celebrate the past,” Biden said shortly before signing the party. “Call for action today.”