Letter to the Editor | South Pasadena and the Quiet Erasure of Juneteenth

South Pasadena at night, 2022 (File Photo – Melanie Hooks)

It was June 15, 2021. The United States Senate unanimously passed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday. The Act was spurred on by Opal Lee, with Rev. Ronald V. Myers Sr., M.D., the Racial Justice Movement, and the Congressional Black Caucus, through their vigorous campaigning and advocacy.

By Yvonne LaRose

Juneteenth was also declared a California optional state holiday on June 19, 2023. Translation: there is no automatic paid time off for workers. Local governments may adopt policies to observe Juneteenth as a paid holiday or provide alternate ways to commemorate the day, according to Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, a full service employment and labor relations law firm. Perhaps that’s why South Pasadena has chosen not to proclaim Juneteenth a City holiday in spite of the fact that City offices are closed and employees (including permanent part time) are entitled to pay for it.

It’s a curiosity that there’s been no formal declaration nor proclamation of the holiday in South Pasadena. It was disappointing when this year, during the spoken word acknowledgement (that intended to be associated with the written Public Comment), a South Pasadena Councilmember chose to openly chuckle from the dais during the statement.

Was that an indication of why the diversity represented by the Invisible 3% of South Pasadena should not expect any degree of recognition, inclusion, equity, respect, and belonging in this City? Mayor Janet Braun seemed to answer that question after the Historic Preservation Foundation’s annual meeting when she said the reason why there are so few Blacks present at public events is because they tend to travel in different circles. My Title VII Consultant background recalled the days of restricted access and admission as the basis for the “different circles,” but there was no opportunity to proffer that thought.

Yvonne LaRose is an Organization Development, California-certified consultant specializing in Title VII and DEI-B, drawing on legal, journalistic, and mediation experience to advance equity.

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