In accordance with Gov. Albert Bryan, Jr. declaring June 19, “Juneteenth” a holiday in the U.S Virgin Islands and President Joseph R. Biden establishing the date as a federal holiday the University of the Virgin Islands has granted an Administrative Leave Day for non-essential UVI employees on Friday, June 18.
Legislation establishing the Juneteenth holiday was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden on Thursday, June 17. Gov. Bryan announced administrative leave for all non-essential government employees and the closure of government offices on Friday in honor of the newly proclaimed federal holiday. The governor also announced that the territory will officially observe the holiday on Saturday in accordance with federal law.
Juneteenth marks the date in 1865 when the last enslaved Africans in America learned from Union soldiers in Texas that they were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.