Twitter, Spotify, Lyft, TikTok and others make Juneteenth an official company holiday – CNET [CNET]

Twitter and Square last week set aside Juneteenth as an official company holiday in the US “forevermore.” They’ve now been joined by several other major tech companies — including TikTok, Spotify, Lyft, Adobe, Indiegogo and Postmates — in recognizing the holiday, which commemorates the end of slavery in the US.

“A day for celebration, education, and connection,” Jack Dorsey, CEO of both Twitter and Square, wrote in a Twitter thread on June 9. “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.”

Observed every June 19, Juneteenth marks the day the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared all enslaved African Americans in the US to be free, was read in Texas in 1865, despite being issued months earlier.

Spotify is making Juneteenth a company holiday for US employees in order to “support the Black community and give this day the recognition it deserves,” a company representative said Tuesday. Adobe said in a blog post on June 10 that employees will have the day off to “focus on reflection and advocacy.” (You can see a list of companies observing the Juneteenth holiday here.)

Google Calendar has reportedly also added Juneteenth as an official US holiday. 

The announcements comes as tens of thousands of people around the US (and around the world) continue to protest to condemn acts of racial discrimination and senseless violence by the police, following the death of George Floyd in police custody on May 25.

A number of tech companies, including Apple and Google, have since pledged millions of dollars to help social justice and civil rights groups as well as black communities. Earlier this month, Dorsey pledged $3 million in Start Small business grants to former NFL player and civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp, which works to educate, empower and mobilize “the next generation of change leaders.”

Black Lives Matter. Visit blacklivesmatters.carrd.co to learn how to donate, sign petitions and protest safely.