The Rhino Times believes most people can agree that Juneteenth is not the best name for a holiday; however, great name or not, a holiday it is. And thus the City of Greensboro, like many other entities, will be largely shut down that day.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that enslaved people there were free. That was more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
The holiday became a federal holiday in 2021, when former President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law on June 17 of that year.
Juneteenth is the newest federal holiday – and the first new one approved since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.
Most City of Greensboro offices will be closed on Friday, June 19, in observance of Juneteenth, but some city services will continue operating.
The biggest change for many residents is the trash and recycling schedule.
There won’t be trash or recycling collections on Friday, June 19.
Instead, Friday’s collections will take place one day earlier, on Thursday, June 18, and Thursday’s collections will take place on Wednesday, June 17.
The White Street Landfill and Transfer Station will also be closed on June 19.
However, the Ecoflo Household Hazardous Waste site at 2750 Patterson St. will remain open.
The Greensboro Transit Agency will operate its regular service on Juneteenth.
The Greensboro Public Libraries, the Greensboro History Museum and the Greensboro Cultural Center will all be closed on June 19.
The Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department will also have a number of closings for the holiday: Parks and Recreation administrative offices, recreation centers, the Adaptive and Inclusive Recreation section, the Greensboro Youth Council, Smith and Trotter Active Adult Centers, Xperience @ Caldcleugh and the Simkins Indoor Sports Pavilion will all be closed.
However, people looking to spend part of the holiday outdoors will still have plenty of options. City parks, gardens, lakes, trails, cemeteries, the Greensboro Sportsplex and Gillespie Golf Course will remain open on their normal operating schedules.
The Melvin Municipal Office Building and the J. Edward Kitchen Operations Center will be closed to all in-person services on June 19.
City residents who need to pay a water bill can still do so through alternative payment methods listed at greensboro-nc.gov/PayWaterBill.
For water and sewer emergencies, including water main breaks, sewer stoppages or changes in the taste, odor or color of drinking water, residents can call Water Resources 24-hour Dispatch at 336-373-2033
