June 20, 2022 4:10 a.m. 

While the holiday fell on Sunday, Juneteenth is being observed Monday.

It commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans after Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. While the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. On June 19, 1865 the army announced that more than 250,000 enslaved black people in that state, were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as “Juneteenth”, by the newly freed people in Texas.

In 2021, President Joe Biden signed legislation which made Juneteenth a federal holiday. It became a state holiday in Oregon last year as well.

Federal and state offices are closed Monday. No regular mail will be delivered. Banks and credit unions are not open. County and city offices in Douglas County will operate as normal.