Lady Lake is poised to follow President Biden’s lead in adding Juneteenth as a town holiday.
Earlier this year, Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act on June 19 making it a federal holiday. Juneteenth is observed on June 19th each year, commemorating the emancipation of the enslaved African Americans back in 1865.
The Lady Lake Commission on Monday will consider officially adding Juneteenth to its scheduled holidays, beginning in 2022. The fiscal impact of adding the holiday would be $7,950. The commission meets at 6 p.m. Monday at Lady Lake Town Hall.
On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation outlawing slavery in the original confederate states. On June 19,1865, Union Army General Gordon Granger, under General Order #3, enforced the freedom of enslaved people in Texas, the last hold-out state in the confederacy.