Melrose Municipal Buildings Closed Monday 6/19 in Observance of Juneteenth

The City of Melrose will close its municipal buildings on Monday, June 19, in observance of Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day and Emancipation Day. The Melrose Police and Fire Stations will remain open. Due to the holiday, trash and recycling will not be collected on June 19, and trash and recycling collection will be delayed by one day for the remainder of the week.

On Friday, June 16, the Melrose community is invited to join Mayor Paul Brodeur and the North Shore Juneteenth Association (NSJA) for Melrose’s 3rd Juneteenth Flag-Raising Ceremony—a Celebration, Reflection, and Appreciation of African American History.

The annual ceremony, which will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Essex St. entrance to City Hall, aims to increase public engagement and awareness of the significance of the holiday. Residents are encouraged to attend this free event, during which they will have the opportunity to sign the Mayor’s Juneteenth Proclamation as a way to join the City’s commitment to celebrating and appreciating African American History, our Black community members, and to raising awareness of Juneteenth.

To learn more about the ceremony, the event’s keynote speaker—Salem State University American History Professor Jamie Wilson—as well as other speakers and performers including Medford Poet Laureate Terry Carter, and how joining the event is an opportunity to show support for Juneteenth, our Black community, and more, visit cityofmelrose.org/Juneteenth2023

About Juneteenth

Despite Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation taking effect on January 1, 1863, hundreds of thousands of Black people continued to be enslaved in the United States. It was not until Union soldiers delivered the news of the abolition of slavery in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, that the last group of enslaved Black people in the United States were freed. The following year, on June 19, 1866, the first official Juneteenth celebrations took place in Texas.