Juneteenth Events The Milwaukee Area: What's Open, What's Closed

WISCONSIN — Juneteenth, the commemoration when word reached the last enslaved people in Texas that the Civil War had ended and they were free in 1865, falls on a Sunday this year. Banks, federal offices and post offices in the Milwaukee-area will be closed on Monday because of the holiday on Sunday.

Many local government offices will still be open, like the Milwaukee City Hall for example. The following are hours for municipal government offices on Monday.

• Milwaukee City Hall: Open regular hours, 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Other city functions like trash collection will run as usual
• Waukesha City Hall: Open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• WisDOT Department of Motor Vehicles: Open 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. in Milwaukee County
• Milwaukee County Courthouse: Closed
• Waukesha County Courthouse: Open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Milwaukee Public Library: Central location will open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., other locations open at 12 p.m.
• Waukesha Public Library: Open 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

People will celebrate Juneteenth with a round of events across southeast Wisconsin. The following are events in the Milwaukee metro area.

Milwaukee Juneteenth Day Parade

• Parade starts near N. 10th Street and W. Atkinson Avenue
• 9-11 a.m.

Milwaukee Juneteenth Street Festival

• Along N. Dr. Martin Luther King Drive between W. Burleigh Street and W. Center Street
• 11 a.m.

The first Juneteenth was on June 19, 1865 and Milwaukee was one of the first northern cities to honor the holiday in 1971, travel bureau VISIT Milwaukee said.

Last year, President Joe Biden signed legislation making Juneteenth an official holiday, becoming the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday was approved in 1983. Juneteenth is oldest-known celebration of the end of slavery in the United States.

Related: What Is Juneteenth? Celebrating The End Of Slavery

Some big brands are giving their employees a day off or paying them extra.

Companies that are already looking seriously at diversity, equity and inclusion efforts may see adding Juneteenth as a paid holiday as “something tangible” that “recognizes the importance of that day,” Julie Stich, a vice president of content at the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, told NPR.

Nike said in an email statement to NPR that Juneteenth is a paid holiday for corporate, retail, manufacturing and distribution employees across the Nike, Converse and Jordan brands. Zillow is doing the same as part of its “ongoing commitment to racial equality,” the company said in a statement.

Both Zillow and Nike are encouraging employees to reflect on the importance of the day while taking part in volunteering, activism and educational opportunities.

Among them, Target and Starbucks are open, but employees get time-and-a-half pay on Juneteenth, according to a list put together by Entrepreneur.

Tech companies Twitter and Square are giving employees the day off. Google and Amazon aren’t, but they’re encouraging employees to cancel meetings. Amazon is also offering “online learning opportunities” throughout the day.