Amid mounting political pressure, a number of restaurants are beginning to address the country’s history of systemic racism.
For a small percentage of those restaurants, that awakening includes the recognition of Juneteenth, a holiday largely overlooked by White people that celebrates the events of June 19, 1865, in which enslaved people in Texas finally learned of their freedom. Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day, came more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation became the law of the land.
Juneteenth, which is not currently a federal holiday, is gaining new attention this year amid widespread protests over the death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of Minneapolis police officers late last month.
Starbucks on Thursday said it would “pause and reflect upon the ending of slavery in the U.S. on June 19th.” The Seattle-based coffee giant said its stores would remain open on Juneteenth, but that all hourly workers would be paid at 1.5 times their regular rate. Salaried workers who must be on the job will receive a holiday day to use at a later time, while support workers would receive the day off with regular pay.
Starbucks came under fire in 2018 after a store manager in Philadelphia called the police on two Black men who were accused of trespassing. More recently, the chain was criticized for telling employees they could not wear clothing items in support of the Black Lives Matter movement—a decision that has since been reversed.
The company said it has “been on a journey” since the Philadelphia incident and is in close communication with its employee group, the Black Partner Network.
“It’s also through conversations with BPN and allies, we’ve decided Starbucks will stand in solidarity with our black partners to celebrate freedom and condemn oppression by recognizing Juneteenth as an annual U.S. company holiday,” the brand said.
Inspire Brands, parent company of Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and more, is not going so far as to designate Juneteenth a company holiday, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper. But it is adding the day to a flexible list of potential employee days off.
Chicago-based third-party delivery provider Grubhub announced earlier this month that it would officially recognize Juneteenth as a company holiday.
The vast majority of large restaurant chains, even those that have commented on Floyd’s killing, made no mention of Juneteenth in public statements or on their social media channels.
Many Black-owned restaurants, some seeing a boost in sales after lists of their businesses circulated online in recent days, publicized deals to coincide with Juneteenth.
In Chicago, the website Black People Eats encouraged Black-owned restaurants to offer $6.19 deals for the weekend, with dozens of participating operators.
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