PENDLETON — Great Pacific in Pendleton is closing its doors in observance of Juneteenth, a holiday marking the end of slavery on June 19, 1965.

The business’ decision to close for Friday, June 19, and Saturday, June 20, comes from owners Carol Hanks and Ken Schulberg and the entire team who were determined to observe the holiday after learning the history of Juneteenth. Addison Schulberg, the general manager and son of the owners, said they are still learning about the holiday and hope others in the community can learn alongside them.

“(We are) paying our respects to such an important day,” Schulberg said. “We would love more people to know about it but also it should just become standard for us to be celebrating these types of days and observing them.”

The team at Great Pacific said they hope the closure will encourage folks to do more research on the holiday and recognize it as a momentous day in history that should be observed by everybody.

“It is not right to be silent and anywhere you can make your voice heard, you gotta do it,” Schulberg said. “We have to normalize the celebration of black people. Their holidays are our holidays.”

The decision to shut down for the weekend also was informed by the Black Lives Matter movement. Schulberg described his parents as “civil minded and social justice minded,” and the company said they’ve been vocal in their fight against systemic racism.

“I’m pretty steadfast in my belief, that we have to lead with our values and to continue to make sure that the morals and values are a big part of the place,” he said.

Schulberg said while the decision to observe the holiday will impact the business financially, they believe it was the right decision to make.

“It would be sad if someone was so offended by our statement that they didn’t want to come in, but that’s not going to change our feelings or our actions,” he said.

Juneteenth marks the day when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce the end of the Civil War and those enslaved were free. This announcement, however, came more than two years following the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln’s executive order that made it against the law to own slaves. According to Juneteenth.com, the observance of Juneteenth makes room for Black history education and celebration.

“Read up on it and know your history so we do not let it repeat,“ he said. “I hope people become a little more educated and a little more open and a little more kind.”