What's Closed In Sherman Oaks On Juneteenth 2022

SHERMAN OAKS, CA — It has been celebrated for decades, but Juneteenth will ring in only its second year as a federal holiday on Monday.

For Sherman Oaks residents, events will be held over the long weekend; some workers will get the day off on Monday, and many buildings will close that day.

Juneteenth is a day that commemorates June 19, 1865, the day that enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, got word that the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted — they were the last such people to get word of their freedom. The holiday has also been called Freedom Day or Emancipation day.

Last year, Congress and President Joe Biden made Juneteenth a federal holiday. It was the first time the U.S. government had designated a new federal holiday since approving Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.

This year, nearly 20 states were expected to close state offices and give most of their public employees time off.

California’s AB-1655 passed the Assembly and moved to the Senate this month, and individual cities such as Los Angeles have already signed proclamations making Juneteenth an official holiday.

The day is typically recognized on June 19, but since that falls on a Sunday this year, it will be observed on Monday to give workers a paid day off.

Here's what will be closed or canceled in Sherman Oaks on Monday:

• Banks
• Federal Government Buildings
• City Buildings
• City Services
• Schools
• Los Angeles County Libraries
• The U.S. Postal Service/Post Offices

Angelenos can check their holiday trash pickup schedule in Los Angeles at www.lacitysan.org.

Over in Hollywood, Juneteenth will be celebrated Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl with a lineup of performances by Khalid, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Roots, Lucky Daye, Robert Glasper, Killer Mike, Billy Porter, Mary Mary, Anthony Hamilton, Michelle Williams, Mickey Guyton and the Debbie Allen Dance Academy. Thomas Wilkins and Derrick Hodge will also spearhead the Re-Collective Orchestra, the first-ever performance of an all-Black symphony orchestra on the Hollywood Bowl stage, according to the venue's website.

Tickets start at $60 and can be purchased here.

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously in August 2020 to initiate the process of making Juneteenth — June 19 — an official city holiday to celebrate the end of slavery in the United States. The motion was introduced by Councilmen Curren Price, Herb Wesson and Marqueece Harris-Dawson following June 2020 demonstrations demanding racial equity and justice in the country and to protest the killings of Black Americans at the hands of police.

"The recognition of Juneteenth from the federal government, and now with this second largest city in the U.S., signals a changing tide, one that's long overdue, in the name of equity, racial justice and dignity," Price said Friday. "As a 71-year-old Black man in America, I have lived the struggles and understand first-hand the toll that it's taken on our people. In the words of the great Maya Angelou, 'still we rise."'

"The journey for Black Americans has been long and windy, filled with a bruised and a shameful past. However, embracing the pain and remembering and honoring our sacrifice strengthens and unites us," he added.

Harris-Dawson said during the meeting that the "sanitized version" is that it took the army two years to arrive in Texas, adding that "the actual history is that the White House sent not one but two emissaries to the states to give them the documentation. Those people were killed before they got there."

He also spoke before the vote and drew contrast between the vote and the presence of a Confederate Flag at the meeting, which was held up by Mike Greenspan, who frequently speaks and uses racist language at City Council meetings.

"I am struck by the irony of where we are today ... as we're discussing Juneteenth, a man stood 20 feet from me at a podium holding the battle flag of the Confederate Army, the most deadly struggle in the history of the United States," Harris-Dawson said.

Wesson before the vote described the horrors experienced by kidnapped Africans as they were brought on boats to the United States, as well as about the experience of Black people in the U.S. Friday, saying:

"It's now our responsibility to ensure that those dreams are realized in a world that has been constructed to ensure that Black people fail, that Black people at best live a life of mediocrity. If you truly believe in your heart and your soul that what was done in the past was wrong, then let us frickin' change it, the systems in place in this country today are systems that don't treat people of color fairly."

He also spoke about how systemic racism in the United States has affected him personally, saying, "I have to read something 10 times when maybe you only have to read it once, because the school I went to as a kid sucked, but I read it 10 times because I want to be the best that I can."

The City Council voted 14-0 to make Juneteenth a paid holiday for employees, starting this Monday.

READ MORE: Santa Monica To Mark 30th Juneteenth Celebration With Music, Panels

The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this report.