At its meeting on June 24, 2025, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors issued a proclamation supporting Juneteenth, the day commemorating the end of enslavement in the United States.

Juneteenth (June 19) – also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day and Liberation Day – has been celebrated by the African American community for over 150 years. It has been a Fairfax County holiday since 2020.

“Today, it is a day to reaffirm our commitment to the essential and ongoing work of eradicating systemic racism that results in exclusion, discriminatory treatment, inequitable policies and disadvantages for Black Americans and other people of color,” the proclamation reads, emphasizing through One Fairfax, the county and community are committed to promoting fairness and justice in the formation of public policy that results in equity for all residents.

The proclamation was accepted by Alma Amaker, a lifelong Fairfax County resident. Amaker also received this year's Juneteenth Resiliency Award. This award is given to those who show resiliency (grit, determination, dedication, perseverance and persistence) to make meaningful contributions and outcomes in their own lives and/or the lives of others in the Black community. The award, instituted in 2021, was previously issued to youth ages 13-21; this year was the first time it was given to a legacy community member, said NCS Equity Manager Ramona Carroll. 

Amaker was chosen by NCS for her 50 years of service as an educator in the Fairfax County Public School System, and representing her fellow educators who taught with her in the segregated and integrated schools, said Carroll.

Today, Amaker, now in her 80s, works at James Lee Community Center in Falls Church. Amaker has been affiliated with James Lee since she attended the then-segregated elementary school when it opened in the late 1940s. James Lee Community Center (and the former school) are named for James Edward Lee, a Black man born free in 1939 who purchased the land where the center now sits.

• View video of the proclamation and award from the June 24, 2025 BOS meeting.
• Learn more about Alma Amaker in a 2024 NCS news post.
• Learn more about the history of Juneteenth.
• See Visit Fairfax's Juneteenth page.
• Learn more about Fairfax County’s One Fairfax Policy.
• Click group photo for high-resolution version.