Lansing school board will vote on making Juneteenth an official school holiday

LANSING — The Lansing School District’s Board of Education is set to vote on whether to make Juneteenth an official school holiday at Thursday’s board meeting. Although the typical school calendar ends before June 19, Lansing School District, like many schools, has summer school and educational programs. Most school staff work throughout the summer. If the board votes to make the date a district holiday, the district will be able to give students and staff the day off to “reflect, enjoy, and celebrate the holiday outside of a school setting,” officials said in a release. The date, June 19, marks the day in 1865 that enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas were informed that they were freed, more than two…