Juneteenth

Juneteenth, as I hope we all know, honors the end of slavery in the United States and many African Americans consider it their Independence Day. I’ve been thinking a lot about it lately, and it’s sad that what should be a day of pure joy is marred because it is also a constant reminder that, for many, the struggle is far from over. I have come to the conclusion that, until that is no longer the case, Juneteenth should not be a day for commercial activity, but instead reserved for celebration and contemplation. 

I have declared that Juneteenth (June 19) is now an official nQueue holiday worldwide.

I want to give all our employees the opportunity to break from their daily routines so they can reflect on our troubled history with race and focus on what we can all do to end racism, so I am taking this unprecedented step: nQueue will be 100% closed this Friday for Juneteenth and—for the first time ever—that includes our support teams. I am hopeful that many of our clients will also take the opportunity start observing Juneteenth, but any with pressing support needs can message me directly and I will solve their problem.

I have been inspired to do this by Kyrie Irving, who is reluctant to resume the NBA season because it takes the focus away from the fight against racial injustice. This pains me. I am a huge NBA fan and miss the games more than anyone I know, but he’s right. As former NBA star Stephen Jackson put it, “Now ain't the time to be playing basketball… Playing basketball is gonna do one thing, take all the attention off the task at hand right now and what we fighting for."

For one day, this Friday, let’s put all the attention ON the task at hand right now. Now is the time to affect change that is life changing and observing Juneteenth is a start. I hope many of you in the legal and legal tech communities will join us.