Juneteenth Celebrations

On “Freedom’s Eve,” or the eve of January 1, 1863, the first Watch Night services took place. On that night, enslaved and free African Americans gathered in churches and private homes all across the country awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect. However, Emancipation Proclamation, could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control.

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When some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas on June 19, 1865, Freedom Finally Came. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by the General Order No 3 issued by General Gordan Granger.

This day came to be known as "Juneteenth," by the newly freed people in Texas.

Flag's creator activist Ben Haith in 1997

On June 19, 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed and nearly five months after the 13th Amendment was passed (six months before it would be ratified), enslaved people in Texas learned that they were free and that slavery in America had officially been abolished.

The Star represents the Lone Star State & the freedom of African Americans
The burst represents a new beginning for the African Americans of Galveston and throughout the land.
The arc-The curve that extends across the width of the flag represents a new horizon: the opportunities and promise that lay ahead for black Americans.
The colors-The red, white and blue represents the American flag, a reminder that slaves and their descendants were and are Americans.

Pan African Flag-1920

The Black American Heritage Flag-1967

"THE BLACK NATIONAL ANTHEM"

The Pan-African flag was created in 1920 by UNIA members, including Marcus Garvey, to represent people of the African Diaspora & to symbolize black liberation in the United States.

"THE BLACK NATIONAL ANTHEM"

The Black American Heritage Flag-1967

"THE BLACK NATIONAL ANTHEM"

the United States.

The Black American Heritage Flag-1967

Also known as the African-American Heritage Flag was created in 1967 by Melvin Charles and Gleason T. Jackson. The flag is an ethnic flag that represents the culture and history of African-American people.

A time to celebrate community, unity & understanding.

Why all Americans should honor Juneteenth

Why Juneteenth Matters by Shennette Garrett-Scott

“When peace come they read the ’Mancipation law to the cullud people. [The freed slaves] spent that night singin’ and shoutin’.

They wasn’t slaves no more.”

Emancipation Proclamation

On September 22, 1862 Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation in the midst of the Civil War. Later issued the actual proclamation in Jan. 1863.

Emancipation and Educating the Newly Freed

Mr. President, Friends and Fellow Citizens:

He who could address this audience without a quailing sensation, has stronger nerves than I have. I do not remember ever to have appeared as a speaker before any assembly more shrinkingly, nor with greater distrust of my ability, than I do this day. A feeling has crept over me, quite unfavorable to the exercise of my limited powers of speech. The task before me is one which requires much previous thought and study for its proper performance. I know that apologies of this sort are generally considered flat and unmeaning. I trust, however, that mine will not be so considered. Should I seem at ease, my appearance would much misrepresent me. The little experience I have had in addressing public meetings, in country schoolhouses, avails me nothing on the present occasion.

Oration, Delivered in Corinthian Hall, Rochester by Frederick Douglass, July 5, 1852

Oration, Delivered in Corinthian Hall, Rochester by Frederick Douglass, July 5, 1852

“We have simply got to make people aware that none of us are free until we’re all free, and we aren’t free yet.” Opal Lee

In 2016, at the age of 89, former teacher and lifelong activist Opal Lee walked 1,400 miles from her home in Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C., to get Juneteenth recognized as a national holiday.”