Twitter, Square make Juneteenth a holiday in US

San Francisco, June 10 (IANS) Jack Dorsey-run Twitter and mobile payments company Square are making June 19 a company holiday in the US to celebrate Juneteenth which commemorates ending of slavery in the country.

"Countries and regions around the world have their own days to celebrate emancipation, and we will do the work to make those dates company holidays everywhere we are present," Dorsey who is CEO of both the companies tweeted late Tuesday.

Dorsey said that June 19 is "a day for celebration, education, and connection."

In his tweet making the announcement amid widespread protests across the US over the death of African-American George Floyd in police custody, Dorsey also shared a link that provides more details about the significance of Juneteenth.

June 19 is celebrated in the US as it was on this day in 1865, Major General Gordon Granger read the "Emancipation Proclamation" in Texas marking the end of slavery across the US.

The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by former US President Abraham Lincoln more than two and a half years ago, but it hardly had any effect in Texas at the time of issuing the order due to the scarce presence of Union troops.

Twitter has taken on US President Donald Trump for his controversial tweets glorifying violence after the death of African-American George Floyd.

Twitter introduced fact checks that showed up on Trump's tweets. Trump later signed an executive order threatening to slash protections for social media companies.

After Trump threatened the micro-blogging platform, Dorsey defended the fact checking action against him.

Dorsey also defended the decision to disable a Trump campaign video over copyright violations, telling the US President that the move is not illegal.

--IANS

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