Juneteenth Becomes Holiday In Cobb Government, But With Dissent

COBB COUNTY, GA — Juneteenth is now considered an official county holiday for Cobb County government employees, but not without some concern from one county commissioner.

On Tuesday, Cobb commissioners voted 4-1 to make Juneteenth a countywide holiday starting in 2022, marking the 12th holiday for county workers. June 19 — coined "Juneteenth" over the years — was the day Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas with the news that all enslaved people were free by executive decree (also known as the Emancipation Proclamation); however, this was two years after the proclamation was already made law, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

President Joe Biden signed a bill this year — on June 17 — making Juneteenth a federal holiday.

The vote against the Cobb measure was from Commissioner Keli Gambrill, who said she didn't have anything against the holiday itself, but with the cost to give employees the day off. If an employee elected to work on the holiday, they would get an additional day off in exchange, Cobb Human Resources Director Tony Hagler said.

This would translate to an estimated $294,000 if all employees worked the holiday. The county would likely not spend that much if workers took the day off, Hagler said.

Gambrill also said it seemed like it was being used as a retention tool. She had already questioned the holiday during Monday's work session, according to the Marietta Daily Journal, asking why the county didn't make Constitution Day a holiday.

"The 13th Amendment abolishes slavery. But we don't take Constitution Day as a holiday ... when are we going to add that one on, to acknowledge the people who celebrate the Constitution? We are in a slippery slope," she said during Monday's work session, according to the MDJ.

Gambrill took issue with Cobb Chairwoman Lisa Cupid's comments about Cobb Police Chief Tim Cox's retirement, she said during Tuesday's board meeting. On Monday, Cupid told the MDJ that the county would be looking for a chief who "can take a fresh look at things, to talk about where we've done well, but talk about where our opportunities are."

"Where is the regard? Where is the respect for him and his ideas? When these things are said, it gives the impression that he's not living up to something, he's not doing something right. Yet he has sat here and defended this county time and again ... so for the board to sit here and approve holidays to try and make it better for the employees, no, it's the way the board treats our employees.

"Take the politics out of the way we treat our employees," Gambrill said Tuesday.

Cupid pointed to her praise of what Cox has done for the county and his achievements in office. In the MDJ article, she also thanked him for his service and said he was instrumental in getting the new public safety headquarters and updated pay grade system for officers.

Cupid also apologized to Cox directly that her comments were being used to undermine the recognition of a holiday — a recognition that didn't have anything to do with employee retention, according to Cupid.

"It is the first time that a significant portion of our population has had their story and their history reflected in our national holiday schedule, that's associated with a very cruel phase of our history which many of us, our ancestors were a part of," Cupid said. "This is an opportunity to recognize the freedoms that we all have, that were not originally contemplated in our original Constitution."

The Cobb County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has been celebrating Juneteenth with an annual festival on Marietta Square for years, East Cobb News reported.

Related:

• Cobb County Police Chief To Retire After 36 Years
• Biden Signs Bill Making Juneteenth A National Holiday: Replay