The out-of-office message you need if your company finally caught up with the times and gave you Juneteenth off

• Insider is taking Juneteenth observed off tomorrow.
• I wrote an out-of-office message to educate people and let them know I won't be checking email.
• Juneteenth recognizes the end of slavery in the US on June 19, 1865.

Insider is taking Juneteenth observed off. To prepare, I crafted an out-of-office message to let my contacts know I won't be checking email tomorrow - and educate them on what the historic event is about.

Juneteenth recognizes the end of slavery in the US, when the Emancipation Proclamation reached Texas (then the most remote Confederate state) on June 19, 1865.

I took my usual OOO template and added a link that explains what Juneteenth is. Here's what I wrote:

Hi,

Thanks for your email! As with a growing number of companies across the country, Insider Inc. has closed today for Juneteenth observed.

I encourage you to read the linked article on the holiday if you'd like to know why this decision was made and why it's so important to the company and its staff.

I'll be sure to respond to your message when I'm back in the office on Monday, 6/21.

Big-name companies such as Twitter and Nike have declared Juneteenth a company holiday as corporate America faces backlash over racial inequality. Other organizations like Microsoft have designated it a "day of listening, learning, and engagement" and canceled meetings.

45 states recognize Juneteenth as a holiday. The House just passed a bill declaring it a national holiday - it now sits on President Joe Biden's desk to be signed into law.