For several years, community activists Harlem Turner and Doris Moore Bailey have asked the Lakeland City Commission to give city workers a paid day off for Juneteenth — a holiday that marks when the last group of enslaved people in Texas finally learned in 1865 that they were free, more than two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
Mayor Bill Mutz deferred last year, saying Lakeland generally follows what the state of Florida does when it comes to holidays.
However, on Monday, he and several city commissioners were moved by impassioned appeals from six community members. Over a span of about 45 minutes, they noticeably warmed to the idea.
“Think of the Fourth of July — that’s what Juneteenth is to people who look like me … That’s when we become Americans, free Americans. That’s when we began the road to equality. That’s our beginning. “
Virginia robinson, lakeland resident
At the end of the public comments, Mutz asked City Attorney Palmer Davis to draft a resolution that would add Juneteenth to the 10 federal and state holidays that the city currently observes, in addition to a “floating holiday” of a worker’s choosing.
Davis said the resolution will be on the commission’s March 18 agenda and could potentially take effect during the current calendar year.
“I’m with you 100%,” Commissioner Chad McLeod said. “That we don’t have a day that celebrates the emancipation, freedom of slaves — the significance of that and the message that it sends, I think is important.”
It was a significant shift from where the conversation began, with commissioners proposing a survey of employees, asking them to rank potential additional holidays for consideration in 2025.
Growing recognition of Juneteenth
The topic came up Monday when Turner requested permission for and gave a presentation to the city commission at its regularly scheduled bi-monthly meeting regarding granting the holiday.
On June 19, 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law legislation making every June 19 a federal holiday, with banks and post offices closed. More than half of the country has followed suit, with 28 states and the District of Columbia declaring it an official holiday. However, the Florida Legislature has yet to officially recognize the federal holiday and, until it does, it’s not a day off for state workers.
Cities are free to decide for themselves and, in Polk County, the municipalities of Haines City, Winter Haven, Lake Alfred and Bartow have decided to make Juneteenth a paid holiday. Turner has been asking Lakeland to do the same.
Turner is the president of the Rose Heights Elk Lodge, which offers services to the community, including a food pantry. He made a presentation at the beginning of the meeting, but then returned to the podium toward the end of the two-hour meeting, saying he was “greatly depressed,” frustrated and dissatisfied with the commission’s lukewarm response.
“You all know we’ve been slaves and we’ve been fighting all our lives. You know that and then you have the audacity to holler about a Juneteenth date because it don’t mean nothing to you to YOU. To you. It means something to us,” said Turner. “But you all still want a rope around our neck. That’s what you’re doing. I ain’t fighting for this Juneteenth for no black rights, I’m fight for everybody.”
A rope with a noose was found hanging from a tree on the Rose Heights Elk Lodge property in October. Lakeland Police officials said no arrest in that case has been made.
Initial hesitation
Mutz at first proposed surveying city workers to see, if given a choice, which holiday they would like off. Commissioner Bill “Tiger” Read suggested Election Day would be a good choice because it would ensure workers could vote.
Commissioner Stephanie Madden told Turner that he and Moore-Bailey were the only residents who had spoken to her about the issue, so she urged anyone who wants the holiday to contact the commissioners and ask for it.
She likened the topic to when the Confederate monument was moved out of Munn Park and she and other commissioners had to decide where to put it.
“When I heard from people to move the monument, I knew it was important to a whole constituency of people,” she said. “I haven’t heard anyone requesting Juneteenth except Mr. Turner and Ms. Moore-Bailey, so that’s two people. But if it represents a lot of people and you know that to be true, then we need to hear from them. … It really does need to be a community voice for us to be able to make a kind of decision that costs all the taxpayer money.”
Out of the city’s $800 million budget, Madden said it would cost about $127,000 to give all hourly employees the day off.
“I can’t spend $120,000 something from (one) person, so when I say I need to hear from more people, I mean it,” Madden said.
Residents push back
In response to Madden, five additional residents rose from their chairs, one by one, and headed to the microphone. The most impactful was community leader Virginia Robinson, who is personally known to and friends with several of the commissioners.
“I don’t think the survey would work, primarily because of the population that you’re asking. I don’t know what percentage is African American, but the greatest stress, the greatest desire is from the African American community,” Robinson said.
“Think of the Fourth of July — that’s what Juneteenth is to people who look like me,” Robinson said. “That’s when we become Americans, free Americans. That’s when we began the road to equality. That’s our beginning.”
Data requested by LkldNow confirms that the city’s workforce is less diverse than Lakeland as a whole. According to the U.S. Census, Lakeland has about 120,000 residents of whom roughly 65% are white, 20% are Black and 18% are Hispanic.
The city employs 2,358 workers of whom 70% (1,643) are white, 9.4% (221) are Black and 10.5% (248) are Hispanic/Latino.
Robinson said: “I knew my great-grandfather. I remember him as a child. His father was a slave. I know nothing about the history prior to that. So Juneteenth is our Fourth of July. And that’s when we begin as Americans — that’s when we share this one country, one nation.”
Civic activist Veronica Roundtree, vice president of the NAACP, also spoke.
“Do you want us to pack this with people to come in here and voice their opinion or do you rather have us to do our survey?” Roundtree asked.
Kenneth Glover, Polk County’s first Black prosecuting attorney and a local civic activist, wanted assurances that the issue wouldn’t be postponed for another year.
“We’re asking you guys not to kick the can down the road, but to be serious about recognizing the contributions of African Americans to make America this great of a place that is dear to your heart,” Glover said. “Let’s do the right thing, commissioners.”
Finally, the mayor directed City Manager Shawn Sherrouse to put the item on the commission’s March 18 agenda. In the meantime, commissioners said community members who feel strongly about it should share why they believe the city should invest in recognizing Juneteenth as an official holiday.
City Commissioners’ email addresses are:
- Mayor Bill Mutz – Bill.Mutz@lakelandgov.net
- Mayor Pro Tem Stephanie Madden – Stephanie.Madden@lakelandgov.net
- Commissioner Sara Roberts McCarley – Sara.McCarley@lakelandgov.net
- Commissioner Chad McLeod – Chad.McLeod@lakelandgov.net
- Commissioner Mike Musick – Michael.Musick@lakelandgov.net
- Commissioner Bill “Tiger” Read – Bill.Read@lakelandgov.net
- Commissioner Guy LaLonde – Guy.LaLonde@lakelandgov.net
You can also email citycommission@lakelandgov.net to reach all of them.
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