KENTUCKY — Earlier this year, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer signed an executive order to form a 15-member Juneteenth Jubilee Celebration Commission, which was tasked with organizing events celebrating its historical significance in Louisville.

Held on June 19, Juneteenth is the oldest known holiday commemorating when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free on June 19, 1865 in Galveston, Texas, where Union soldiers brought them the news two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

"America has seen in over 2000 cities, social justice protests taking place and obviously Louisville, was one of the big cities in that around the country. So whether it's promoting Juneteenth or establishing a civilian review board, everything that we can do to advance racial equity, we're going to do, because it's very clear in our constitution that there's supposed to be liberty, justice, opportunity for all. That doesn't differentiate in any way by gender, skin color, ethnicity, so it's our job to push it forward," explains Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer.

During this In Focus Kentuccky, Mayor Fischer discusses the June 2020 executive order he signed, recognizing the day as an official holiday for Louisville Metro Government (LMG) workers, effective in the year 2021.

"Last year I proclaimed Juneteenth to be a city holiday from last year till time immemorial I hope. And then in February of this year, we established the Juneteenth commission here through an executive order of mine, so that we could really scale it up as a city holiday and a time of celebration and awareness," adds Fischer.