Kentucky city’s water company adds Juneteenth as new holiday for employees

Published 5:53 am Wednesday, June 16, 2021

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville’s water company is adding a new holiday for its workers: Juneteenth, which marks the end of slavery.

The Louisville Water Co., which serves about a million customers in the city and surrounding counties, said the “civil unrest” in the community prompted discussions about diversity, equity and inclusion.

“We want our employees to know that this day is important to the company and to reflect upon what it signifies in our history — the ending of slavery in this country,” said Spencer Bruce, Louisville Water’s president.

The day commemorates June 19, 1865, when slaves in Galveston, Texas, learned they had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years earlier.

Louisville Water employees will be given Friday off this year, since the holiday falls on Saturday.