JUNETEENTH CELEBRATIONS

Twitter and Square will make Juneteenth a company holiday, CEO Jack Dorsey announced Tuesday.

The holiday, celebrated June 19th, marks the day Gen. Gordon Granger in 1865 read the Emancipation Proclamation to former slaves in Texas, the final state where emancipation was announced after the proclamation was issued in 1863.

The holiday has been observed among African Americans as a celebration of emancipation since at least 1866 and is recognized as a state holiday or observance in 47 states.

In a pair of tweets Tuesday, Dorsey confirmed the companies would make the day a holiday every year going forward, adding “Countries and regions around the world have their own days to celebrate emancipation, and we will do the work to make those dates company holidays everywhere we are present.”