This Friday, June 19th, GM will pause production to observe the end of American slavery.

Juneteenth is a commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19th, 1865, Soldiers from the Union army arrived in Texas to announce the end of the Civil War. The date is approximately thirty months later than President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.

General Motors has announced that the company will pause production for eight minutes and forty-six seconds. The pause time is the same amount of time that a police officer kneeled on the neck of citizen George Floyd, contributing to his death in Minneapolis.

GM’s President, Mark Reuss, sent a memo to plant managers and staff this week asking workers to pause work “as a sign of solidarity with the Black community and our support of the struggle against continuing racial injustice.”

“The United States, along with the rest of the world, needs to change, and we want to do everything we can to help make that happen, from donating our money and time to aiming to be the world’s most inclusive company to reminding all our employees of our goals and values every day,” Reuss wrote. “Friday’s event is one way to do just that.”

In related news, GM has offered talent, time, and funding to support racial equity in recent weeks.

Quotation courtesy of the Detroit News.  Images courtesy of GM media support.