Metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta

For first time, Fulton government to close Friday for Juneteenth

LED water displays have been installed at the Fulton County government building in Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday, May 5, 2021. (Rebecca Wright for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Credit: Rebecca Wright

Credit: Rebecca Wright

LED water displays have been installed at the Fulton County government building in Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday, May 5, 2021. (Rebecca Wright for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
By Ben Brasch
June 15, 2021

All Fulton County government offices and facilities will close Friday to celebrate Juneteenth, marking the first time the county has officially shut down for the holiday.

Commissioners last year decided to replace Columbus Day with Juneteenth as an official county holiday.

Juneteenth celebrates June 19, 1865 — when slaves in Galveston, Texas, learned that they were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued and more than two months after the end of the Civil War.

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DeKalb County also last year made Juneteenth an official holiday.

All county operations will resume Friday.

Interesting Facts About Juneteenth.Juneteenth, which falls on June 19, marks the day General Gordon Granger announced to slaves in Galveston, Texas, that they were free.Here are some things to know about the historic event.President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, two and a half years prior to Granger's announcement, but slaves in Texas were not aware that they were free.The migration of freedpeople to northernregions or to track down family members became known as “the scatter.”.Juneteenth is still not a federal holiday, though most states recognize it as a national holiday.The Juneteenth flag is full of symbolism, with the bursting “new star” representing a new freedom and a new people

ExploreJuneteenth Facts: Emancipation Day and Juneteenth celebrations aren’t new to Georgia

About the Author

Ben Brasch is the reporter tasked with keeping Fulton County government accountable. The Florida native moved to Atlanta for a job with The AJC. If there's something important to you going on in Fulton, he wants to know about it. Help him better metro Atlanta by dropping a line, anonymously or otherwise.

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