To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: ELIZABETH HAUSE, ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER
TITLE
title
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING OPTIONS TO CELEBRATE AND COMMEMORATE THE JUNETEENTH HOLIDAY
end
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
At the March 21, 2023 City Council meeting, the Council adopted a resolution commemorating Juneteenth as an annual celebration in the City of Redondo Beach. On April 2, 2024, staff was directed to return with an item to discuss options on ways to celebrate the Juneteenth holiday. This report provides Council with examples of celebrations programmed or sponsored by other cities, and also shares events or activities already taking place in the City of Redondo Beach. Staff is seeking direction on what types of activities or events the City Council would like staff to further explore and if there are any celebratory actions or activities the Council would like to have occur in 2024.
BACKGROUND
On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation legally ended slavery in the United States, but the low presence of Union troops and non-compliance with the Proclamation prolonged slavery in Texas and in other states. On June 19, 1865, U.S. General Gordon Granger and 2,000 federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to enforce the emancipation of slaves and inform those still enslaved within the borders of the United States that they were free. Juneteenth (short for June Nineteenth) has since become the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. On June 17, 2021, Juneteenth became a federal holiday and on September 29, 2022 it became a California state holiday.
At the June 21, 2022 Council meeting, a referral was made to staff to return with an item discussing the possible adoption of a resolution recognizing and celebrating Juneteenth. At the March 21, 2023 meeting, the City Council adopted a resolution commemorating Juneteenth as an annual celebration in the City of Redondo Beach.
At the Ap...
Click here for full text