Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear on Thursday declared Juneteenth a holiday for state executive branch employees and expanded hiring and employment protections in the state by banning discrimination based on hairstyle.
The individual executive orders signed by the Democratic governor represented his most recent outreach to Kentucky’s black citizens – but also reflected the limits of that outreach.
Beshear, considered a rising star among Democrats, took the action after attempts to make Juneteenth a statewide holiday and ban discrimination based on hairstyle failed in the state legislature, which has a Republican second majority.
“After years of inaction, I have come to the conclusion that I can no longer wait for others to do the right thing,” said Beshear, who signed the orders alongside black lawmakers at the State Capitol in Frankfort.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom—two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued during the Civil War. For generations, African Americans have known about Juneteenth. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed a law making it a federal holiday.
An executive order from the Beshear Institute states that starting this year, Juneteenth Day will be observed as a state executive holiday. All executive branch offices will remain closed.
Beshear described Juneteenth as a celebration of progress, but also said it is “a powerful reminder of our responsibility as Americans and the work that remains to be done.”
“This is an important day in our history as Americans,” he said. “A day when we stand united in acknowledging our past and our country’s greatest injustice. A day when we honor the strength and courage of African Americans and the contributions they have made and continue to make to our country.”
The bill to make Juneteenth a holiday in Kentucky was introduced this year by state Sen. Gerald Neal, the chamber’s top Democrat, but no progress was made by the end of the session last month. Neal, who is African-American, signaled Thursday that he would try again in the 2025 session.
The other executive order expands protections in state hiring and employment by prohibiting discrimination based on “characteristics historically associated with race, including but not limited to natural hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and plaits.”
Protective measures are necessary because the state has a “diverse workforce full of talented, hard-working Kentuckians from a variety of backgrounds,” the governor said. “That’s what makes us special.”
The governor’s office said bills to ban discrimination based on hairstyle in the workplace and at school had failed in recent legislative sessions.
Melinda Wofford, a graduate of the Governor’s Minority Management Trainee Program and deputy director of the Kentucky Department of Transportation, thanked the governor for “recognizing the individuality that our great state represents.”
“Recognizing cultural uniqueness is a strength that creates peace in the world, where everyone should feel comfortable and confident in reaching their full potential without fear of having to remove their crown,” Wofford said.
In March, Beshear marched with other Kentucky citizens to mark the 60th anniversary of a historic civil rights rally in the state capital attended by Martin Luther King Jr. They followed in the steps of the civil rights icon and 10,000 others who joined the March on Frankfort in 1964 to demand legislation to end discrimination and racial segregation in the Bluegrass State.
Beshear has welcomed black leaders into his inner circle as governor and previously as attorney general. He has touted his administration’s record of supporting the state’s historically black colleges and universities and expanding health care and economic opportunity in minority neighborhoods.
Beshear also led the successful initiative to remove a statue of Kentucky-born Confederate President Jefferson Davis from the rotunda of the state Capitol.
