Components of the Juneteenth Flag have meaning
It’s official! As of June 16, 2021, the Juneteenth Flag has a national holiday to be recognized, celebrated and flown. An additional red, white, and blue flag could be flown over the National and state capitol buildings beginning next year.
NATIONWIDE (June 2021) – For two decades, communities around the country have held flag-raising ceremonies on Juneteenth in celebration of freedom. The Juneteenth flag became real in 1997. Each component of the flag has significance.
The Juneteenth Flag is the symbolic representation of the end of slavery in the United States. The flag was created in 1997 by activist Ben Haith, founder of the National Juneteenth Celebration Foundation (NJCF). With the help of collaborators and Boston-based illustrator, Lisa Jeanne Graf gave their concept essence.
According to Haith, designing the flag and with these components was a deliberate process. Here’s what each element of the flag represents:
The STAR: The white star in the center of the flag has a dual meaning. It represents Texas, the Lone Star State. It was in Galveston in 1865 where Union soldiers informed the country’s last remaining enslaved people that they were freed under the Emancipation Proclamation issued two years earlier.
The BURST: The bursting outline around the star represents a nova, a term used in astronomy to describe the birth of a new star. In this case, a new beginning for formerly enslaved African Americans.
The ARC: The horizontal curve at the intersection of the red and blue colors of the flag represents a new horizon: the opportunities and promises that lay ahead for black Americans.
The COLORS: The red, white and blue represent the American flag, a reminder that the Africans became, and their descendants are (African) Americans.
The DATE: June 19, 1865, represents the day in Galveston, Texas where the last of those still enslaved, became freed Americans under the law.
Although African Americans still fight for equality and justice, Haith said the colors (red, white, and blue) symbolize the continuous commitment of people in the United States to do better — and to live up to the American ideal of liberty and justice for all.
