CINCINNATI — The Bengals have made Juneteenth a paid holiday, giving all employees the day off and closing team facilities on Friday.
Also called Emancipation Day, Juneteenth is the oldest-known U.S. celebration of the end of slavery. The day commemorates June 19, 1865, when a Union general went to Galveston, Texas, to give notice that the Civil War was over and enslaved people were free -- more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
Earlier this month, the Bengals announceda $250,000 pledge to community initatives in Cincinnati. Players, coaches and staff will decide where the money will be spent.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced last week that league offices would close on Juneteenth.
