Twitter and Square make Juneteenth a company holiday

Twitter and digital payments company Square have made June 19 a company holiday, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

Jack Dorsey, the CEO of both companies, tweeted the news on Tuesday, placing Twitter and Square among the few that offer workers a paid day off for what’s known as Juneteenth. It marks the date—June 19, 1865—when Union soldiers read the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order ending slavery, to black slaves.

Dorsey’s decision comes as the Black Lives Matter movement fuel protests nationwide for racial justice following the recent death of black Minneapolis resident George Floyd after a