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Some local companies are honoring Juneteenth. Jeff Bezos is canceling meetings.

Some of the nation’s highest-profile companies are leading the way in making Juneteenth, a date honoring the end of slavery in the U.S., a paid holiday. A handful of companies in Greater Washington are joining the nationwide push as the country grapples with social justice reform in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced a proposal Tuesday to make June 19 a paid state holiday, and companies headquartered in the state were urged to lead the way. McLean-based Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) was one of the first to say it would honor the date, saying it would close all its offices and branches at 2 p.m. Friday. Charlotte, N.C.-based Truist Bank, the new name of the combined SunTrust and BB&T, followed suit.

Vox Media Inc., the publisher of The Verge, Vox, SB Nation, Eater and other publications that keeps dual headquarters in D.C. and New York City, said it is observing Juneteenth…

Read the full story from the Washington Business Journal.

Meet John Chapman, Alexandria’s Black history tour guide, councilman and ‘Night Mayor’

Welcome to Off the Beat, a weekly Q&A with a local business person doing something a little different. Have an idea or pitch that reflects some unusual business activity? Email mneibauer@bizjournals.com. John Taylor Chapman is the owner of Manumission Tour Co., a member of Alexandria City Council and a fourth-generation Alexandrian. Manumission, defined as the formal emancipation from slavery, offers guided weekend walking and bus tours of Alexandria’s Black history February through December.
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