The Indianapolis Colts organization will be closing their doors on Friday, June 19 in recognition of “Juneteenth” as a company holiday moving forward.
June 19 is recognized as the official date when slavery ended in the United States.
Though the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863, the newly freed American slaves were not read the decree until two months after the conclusion of the Civil War on June 19, 1865.
The Colts organization is closing on Friday in honor of Juneteenth and have made it a permanent company holiday.
— Joel A. Erickson (@JoelAErickson) June 17, 2020
There are several teams that have announced that Juneteenth will be a permanent company holiday with more teams likely to join in.