Nike joins the companies making Juneteenth an annual paid holiday
Nike is adding June 19, a holiday called Juneteenth, to its list of official, paid company holidays. The sportswear giant joins a growing number of companies that announced this week they are making Juneteenth, the oldest known US celebration of the end of slavery, an annual company holiday. "At Nike, Inc., we aspire to be a leader in building a diverse, inclusive team and culture. He added that observing Juneteenth is an opportunity "to better commemorate and celebrate Black history and culture." He said the company plans to regularly track and measure its progress, though he didn't provide further specifics on how the initiative would be carried out.
Nike, NFL and others to start giving workers Juneteenth off
Although slavery was already abolished more than two years earlier by the Emancipation Proclamation, it continued in some areas. Some businesses have professed support for the Black Lives Matter movement or pledged to donate money to organizations. Others have promised to hire more black workers or make other policy changes. This week, Nike CEO John Donahoe told workers they would get Juneteenth off starting this year as a way to celebrate black culture and history. The power of this historical feat in our countrys blemished history is felt each year," Goodell wrote in a memo.