In deciding to observe Juneteenth as an annual paid company holiday for the first time, Cempa Community Care was inspired in part by its mission and the people it serves, CEO Shannon Stephenson said.
"Our population that we serve has actually been in the spotlight and has combated discrimination in the past," she said.
Cempa offers primary care on a sliding scale payment basis and free STD testing, as well as a syringe exchange program, mobile clinic and transportation, housing and nutrition assistance. Their 60 employees will have the day off, though on-call physicians will be available for urgent needs, Stephenson said.
Cempa Community Outreach Director LaDarius Price said the organization wanted to do more than make a statement or issue a press release in support of growing calls for racial justice.
"Cempa has already made a statement in our community through our work. Minorities know that Cempa cares about the community," Price said. "We should champion this as it relates to stepping up to the plate and being a leader and saying Juneteenth should be celebrated and honored."
Tracy Wood is president and CEO of Alleo Health, which includes Hospice of Chattanooga. The company decided this week to make Juneteenth an annual paid day off for its 600 employees in Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina to honor the diversity of its employees and the families it serves, she said.
"When we really stopped to think about all of the pain, the anger, the sadness and the frustration that has happened over the past few weeks, we know we have associates that are walking around in distress and in pain and we want to let everyone in our organization know that we care about them," Wood said. "We're not just going to talk about it, we're going to do something about it."
Moved by heightened calls for systemic change after the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, national brands from Nike and J.C. Penney to Target and Best Buy have announced that they will offer Juneteenth as a paid holiday. While stores observing the holiday will be open, employees who choose to work and forgo the paid day off will earn extra pay.
The states of New York and Virginia will also give employees the day off, as will the National Football League. And banks including Truist/SunTrust and Pinnacle Bank will close at 2 p.m.
Juneteenth celebrates the day word of the emancipation of slaves reached Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
"This has long been an important day for the African American community, and so we will take this small but important step in an effort to promote unity and much-needed healing for our nation," Pinnacle CEO Terry Turner said. "Juneteenth isn't a federal holiday. Acknowledging the day by closing our offices a few hours early is a very small step that some may see as insufficient. I agree. Nevertheless, I find great hope and inspiration in the fact that this move to acknowledge Juneteenth and the African American experience is led by people wanting to do something good, not a government declaration."
Juneteenth observations
On Friday, in observance of Juneteenth, 155 red, black and green Pan-African flags will be posted along the Walnut Street Bridge.At 7 p.m., the bridge also will be the site of a Justice & Equality Prayer Walk by the Divine 9, a group of nine historically black sororities and fraternities, the Clergy Koinonia and the Young Ministers Network of Chattanooga.
At Unum, the company is observing Juneteenth with 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence in memory of George Floyd and hosting a panel to talk about how to combat racism, discrimination and bias, spokeswoman Kelly Spencer said. The city of Chattanooga will offer a virtual Juneteenth observance on Friday, and the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce will host its annual Diversify Summit online that day, as well.
For Price, the formal observation of Juneteenth aligns with the things he celebrates and values, he said.
"For me as a black man, Juneteenth is the celebration of the independence of my people," he said. "It is not just another day off for me - it's a celebration of my heritage."
Contact Mary Fortune at mfortune@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow her on Twitter at @maryfortune.