You may have today off!

All state offices will be closed Friday, June 18 in observance of Juneteenth, according to an email sent to state employees. 

President Joe Biden officially signed the bill Thursday, establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day. 

Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. June 19, 1865 is when Union Major General Gordon Granger announced the end of slavery in Texas, in accordance with President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. 

Juneteenth has been recognized in Missouri as Emancipation Day since 2003. Only a handful of states currently observe June 19 as a paid holiday.