As protests against racial injustice gripped the nation in 2020, major corporations rushed to observe Juneteenth and give their employees the day off.
Five years later, they are still commemorating the holiday but not with the same fanfare.
“For the past few years, companies were using Juneteenth as an opportunity to share commitments to advance racial equity,” said Joelle Emerson, CEO of culture and inclusion platform Paradigm. “In the current climate, I imagine we may see fewer of these high visibility statements and more of an internal focus.”
Emerson said she has not spoken with any companies that plan to stop recognizing the holiday, but 15% of organizations in a recent benchmarking study from Paradigm said they would stop celebrating identity and heritage-related events like Juneteenth amid the Trump administration-led backlash against workplace diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
In observing the holiday celebrated by Black Americans for generations, corporations are focused on “lower visibility” activities, Emerson said.
