City of Tonawanda Having Trouble With Juneteenth Holiday

June is a special month for those who live in Western New York. Not only have we turned the corner weather wise, with warm temperatures finally starting to set in for the summer, we quickly get into outdoor festival and event season in the region.

Just about every weekend from June to September there is an event, concert, show, or festival happening all over the 716, and June we see a bunch of them happening back to back. Events like the Greek Festival, Allentown Art Festival, and a celebration of America's newest holiday, Juneteenth, all occur in the first few weeks of the month.

While most of the communities around the Empire State have decided to honor Juneteenth after both New York and the Federal Governemnt made the date a holiday, it seems, however, that the City of Tonawanda is in fact struggling with the best way to appropriately honor the end of slavery in America that impacted more than 1 in 9 people.

Is The City of Tonawanda Going To Observe Juneteenth or Not?

According to an article published by the Buffalo News, city officials in Erie County's smallest city only officially recognized the holiday once in 2021 as part of a one-time agreement the mayor at the time made with city employees.

READ MORE: Buffalo Was Filled With Love & Laughter At The 2025 Juneteenth Festival [PHOTOS]

In the now 4 years since, the city didn't recognize the holiday at all in 2022, while holding Juneteenth events in 2023 and 2024, but still did not recognize the day as a holiday. In 2025, city officials are planning to hold a Juneteenth event on June 19th, but the day is still not considered a holiday for town employees.

With the federal government, New York State, Erie County, and the city of Buffalo all recognizing the nation's newest holiday, the question needs to be asked why Tonawanda and other communities in Western New York have been so slow to change their policies.

It's important to note that many private companies and municipalities have to negotiate with their employees what holidays will be recognized, and which ones will not be. But when the local leadership doesn't see the importance of celebrating freedom, you're not likely to see changes in our community.