Caddo Commission Declares Friday Juneteenth a Parish Holiday & Recognizes June as Pride Month
Commissioner Jackson issued the following statement in honor of Juneteenth Independence Day & LGBTQ Pride Month:
"For the second year in a row the Caddo Parish Commission will recognize Juneteenth Independence Day as an official Parish holiday. I am thankful that my colleagues for their support of Resolution 53 of 2021 today to recognize Friday June 18, 2021 as a Parish holiday. The resolution also requires the Parish Administrator to submit a plan to amend the Parish's Personnel Handbook to recognize Juneteenth as a Parish Holiday in perpetuity.
"The vote to make Juneteenth a federal holiday is on par with 4ht of July Independence Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and other national holidays punctuated a broader push for racial justice and equity in the United States following the police murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, in Minneapolis in May 2020.
"Juneteenth holds an important place not only in African American history, but in United States history for all Americans to reflect on, learn about, and appreciate the struggles, triumphs ,and continued growth of our nation as a whole. This year the Louisiana Legislature has approved HB 554 of 2021 Regular Session and has been signed into law to declare the third Saturday in June, Juneteenth Day, as a legal holiday and Congress this week officially made Juneteenth a federal holiday.
"In addition to the Juneteenth Holiday, I also thankful to my colleagues for recognizing and proclaiming June as Pride Month for the Parish of Caddo. It is important that we recognize valuable contributions our LGBTQ community contributes to Caddo Parish and that we continue to work toward" a more equal and just society for all. We thank People Acting for Change and Equality PACE for donating an equality flag to fly outside our Parish's health Unite to highlight the significant work our local health unit is doing around ensuring equal access to health services for the LGBT community."
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Check out Commissioner Jackson's interview with 710 KEEL where he join Erin McCarty and Councilwoman Levette Fuller to discuss his concerns about the initial proposal for spending American Rescue Plan Funds.
Commissioner Jackson opined via Facebook earlier this week that with $80 - $100 million dollars coming to the City of Shreveport, Parish of Caddo, and Caddo Schools that the community should feel and see some type of impact. "I am very concerned we are talking about spending so much of the funds that should be stimulating and bolstering our economy and community on Parish owned facilities," said Commissioner Jackson. "I am not saying we shouldn't spend any on capital improvements. However, $30 million of the $43 million is unreasonable especially when we currently pay millions in annual taxes to maintain many of these facilities being proposed for improvements. It should make any taxpayer wonder, "what in the world are we doing with the taxes that we are collecting?" The Commission will begin having community meetings to get community feedback in hopes that it will help guide their spending plan.
In December 2020, Commissioner Jackson opined a similar position when the City of Shreveport received $18 million and the Caddo Sheriffs Office received $13 million CARES Act Funding.
