Carrboro Approves Juneteenth as a Town Holiday, Mural Denouncing Racism

The Carrboro Town Council made Juneteenth an official town holiday and moved forward with a mural project denouncing racism on Tuesday.

During a special meeting called to interrupt its summer break, the town council approved a resolution to make June 19, also known as Juneteenth, a paid town holiday. The measure also pushes state and other local governments to take similar action in recognizing the day.

Juneteenth, an annual holiday to commemorate the end of slavery, garnered national attention last month amid national attention to racial injustice. The holiday was started after enslaved African-Americans in Galveston, Texas, were told they were free on June 19, 1865, after Union Soldiers came into the town following the Civil War.

The Town of Chapel Hill declared this most recent June 19 as a holiday and encouraged town employees to use the day to take action on improving racial equality.

Carrboro’s town council also took action to approve a public mural denouncing racism. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter murals created in larger cities like Washington D.C., Chicago and more, the mural aims to support the ending of racial injustice.

The approved proposal is for the mural to be on Laurel Avenue, with yellow letters each 23 feet long that spell ‘End Racism Now.’ Town staff will fund the project estimates the cost will be around $3,000, largely to acquire paint, stencils and other materials.

Sekou Keita, a Black filmmaker, professional photographer and community member, is aiming for it to be a community project. But with the display on property not owned by the council, a two-to-four month timeline is expected as the streets’ uses and the application for the project are reviewed by the Federal Highway Administration.

The town council approved a motion to seek other options for community projects or displays on town property in the mean time to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

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