Juneteenth Is An Important Symbol In The Ongoing Fight For Freedom

By King County Government Dow Constantine

This 12 months King County will acknowledge Juneteenth as a paid vacation for the primary time for our 16,000 staff. It’s my hope that every of us will use the time to acknowledge the persevering with wrestle for racial justice in our nation, and our continued work to construct an anti-racist and pro-equity regional authorities.

Making Juneteenth an official vacation affords all our staff an opportunity to honor the immense contributions of Black and African Individuals to the historical past and tradition of our nation and area, and to additional perceive our nation’s historical past of racial injustice, and reaffirm our dedication to constructing a racially-just future.

Juneteenth additionally offers King County staff a chance to replicate on how we will sharpen our focus and dedication to undo institutionalized racist practices and insurance policies, particularly people who hurt Black communities.

Our Workplace of Fairness and Social Justice is working with our departments and employees to make sure that fairness and racial justice isn’t an afterthought or a checkbox – fairly it’s on the middle of all the pieces we do as an enterprise. And on the similar time, we’re driving fairness ahead straight in the neighborhood by way of investments in the neighborhood.

For instance, during the last 12 months the County has allotted practically $7 million in grants to handle the disproportionally dangerous impacts of COVID-19 to these most harmed by systemic racism. These grants are advancing digital fairness, supporting the Coalition Towards Hate and Bias that’s serving communities impacted by hate and bias incidents, and partnering with community-based organizations and group media entities to raised attain various communities in King County. These funds are rising language entry and advancing incapacity fairness in King County authorities. We’re additionally working with group to co-create tips on how to make the most of a $25 million fund, all in direction of turning into a pro-equity and anti-racist authorities that invests in group as a technique of addressing the general public well being disaster that’s racism.

Our authorities acknowledges that racial injustice, inequality, and race-based violence stay deeply embedded in American society – a truth many Black Individuals have identified, lived, and nonetheless expertise at the moment. This actuality won’t change in a single day, however these investments are first steps in a protracted journey towards a future freed from racism, violence and hate.

In King County, Juneteenth might be a day of celebration, in addition to a day of service, studying, and motion. Juneteenth is a crucial image of the continued battle for freedom – as one reminder of how far we have now come, and the way far we nonetheless need to go to actually obtain a racially simply America.