June is a month of change. The school year comes to a close. Spring makes way for Summer. Many of our children and grandchildren celebrate moving on and graduation ceremonies, some taking that tenuous first step into adulthood and their bright futures. While we prepare town-wide to celebrate these changes with loved ones under the many freedoms granted to us as Americans, let us never forget, to recognize that freedom cannot be taken for granted.

This Wednesday, June 19th, is Juneteenth, the national holiday commemorating when Union Army Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, and told slaves of their emancipation, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Juneteenth marks the end of slavery in the United States, and is the first federal holiday to be approved since Martin Luther King Jr. Day. On Wednesday, June 19th, Town Offices will be closed in observance of the national holiday.

“Juneteenth represents not just an important moment for those in our black community. It is a moment of change for all Americans, marking an important shift toward a better America,” said Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter. “Let us not lose sight of the fight for equality and the significance of this holiday on the long road of challenges that our friends, neighbors and fellow Americans have faced to gain this recognition,” the Supervisor added.

Usual operating hours will resume on Thursday, June 20th.