Detroit Evening Report: Detroit City Council approves Juneteenth as paid holiday for city workers
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The Detroit skyline from Hart Plaza.
Detroit will recognize Juneteenth as a paid holiday for city workers.
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Detroit City Council unanimously approved the resolution Tuesday. President Biden declared June 19 as a federal holiday in 2021.
Several residents disapprove of the city council’s decision to commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S. with a day off. Former police commissioner William Davis believes Juneteenth should be for Black Detroiters.
“I don’t think that this should be going to all city employees. I don’t think this should be going to contractors. I don’t think this should be going to white people,” says Davis.
According to The Detroit News, Juneteenth will cost the city more than $600,000 in police, fire and bus driver overtime.
Other headlines for May 10, 2023:
- Detroit officials seek to ban flavored tobacco products
- DDOT installs new kiosks for bus pass purchases
- Detroit’s Councilwoman Waters wants health impact of cell phone towers at elementary schools investigated
- Detroit’s Civil Rights, Inclusion and Opportunity Department hosting Juneteenth student poetry contest
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