The Flag Commemorating the Holiday Carries Significant Meaning in Its Design
By Godwin Kelly
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Juneteenth marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. This action happened two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln on Jan. 1, 1863. In the proclamation, Lincoln established that all enslaved people in Confederate states in rebellion against the Union “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”
On the one-year anniversary of that momentous day in Galveston, freed men in Texas organized the first of what became the annual celebration of “Jubilee Day” on June 19, 1866. In the ensuing decades, Juneteenth commemorations featured music, barbecues, prayer services and other activities, and as Black people migrated from Texas to other parts of the country, the Juneteenth tradition spread.
“This was a very important day, because words and whispers had gotten down to the slave community (regarding their freedom), but it was not official,” said Blanche Valentine from the African American Cultural Society in Palm Coast, Florida. “They knew that freedom was coming but didn’t know what freedom meant.”
Juneteenth National Independence Day was signed into law as a federal holiday on June 17, 2021. Since June 19 falls on a Sunday this year, the public holiday takes place on Monday, June 20.
“This is a day for all people to remember what was going on in our nation,” Valentine added. “I think it’s important that the history be told, and the story shared. As far as we’ve come, this is a time to remember. This a time for the community to come together.”
With the rest of the nation, IMSA celebrates Juneteenth today. Here is an explanation of the flag that helps commemorate the day:
- Juneteenth inspired the creation of a flag in 1997. The original flag was revised in 2000 and updated again in 2007 to add the date “June 19, 1865.” That was the day Union Army Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger rode into Galveston and told enslaved African Americans of their emancipation.
- The white star in the center of the flag has a dual meaning. It signifies the freedom of African Americans in all 50 states and represents Texas, the Lone Star State.
- The bursting outline around the star is inspired by a nova, a term that astronomers use for a new star. On the Juneteenth flag, this represents a new beginning for the African Americans of Galveston and throughout the land.
- The arc that extends across the width of the flag represents a new horizon: the opportunities and promise that lay ahead for black Americans.
- The red, white and blue color scheme signifies the American flag, a reminder that slaves and their descendants were and are Americans. The colors also symbolize the continuous commitment of people in the United States to do better and live up to the American ideal of liberty and justice for all.