Use | Commemorating the Juneteenth holiday |
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Proportion | 2:3 |
Adopted |
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Design | Upper half is blue and lower half is red. Colors are divided by a horizontal arch. In the center is a white star which is outlined. |
Designed by |
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The Juneteenth flag is a symbol for the Juneteenth holiday in the United States. The first version was created in 1997 by activist Ben Haith and that early version was displayed in 1997. The present version was first flown in 2000. The colors and symbols on the flag are representative of freedom and the end of slavery. The date on the flag represents that of General Order No. 3 issued in Galveston, Texas in 1865. Beginning in 2020, many states began recognizing Juneteenth by flying the flag over their state capitol buildings, especially after Juneteenth was declared a federal holiday by President Joe Biden the following year.
The Juneteenth flag was designed in 1997 by activist Ben Haith (also known as "Boston Ben"). [1] Haith displayed the first version of the Juneteenth flag in June 1997 at Boston's John Eliot Square District. It was described by Patricia Smith of the Boston Globe as, "A banner adorned with sunbursts and flaming candles". [2] The present design was completed and copyrighted by Haith in 2000. [3] Haith is also the founder of the National Juneteenth Celebration. [4] Lisa Jeanne Graf claims on her website that she was another contributor to the design: she states that she fine-tuned the design of the flag for the National Juneteenth Celebration Foundation. [5]
The flag uses the colors of red, white and blue from the American flag. Featured prominently in the center of the flag is a bursting star. [6] Running through the center of the flag horizontally, is an arc that is meant to symbolize the new horizon of opportunity for black people. [4] According to the president of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation Steve Williams, the star is a "Bursting star of freedom." Williams also states that the arch representing the horizon shows blue above and the red color below is symbolic of the ground soaked with blood; the blood which was shed by the African American slaves for the United States. [7] The red, white, and blue colors were meant to convey the message that all enslaved people and their descendants are American. [4] In 2007, the date "June 19, 1865" was added. [6]
The five-pointed star refers both to Texas (nicknamed the "Lone Star state") and to the "freedom of African Americans in all 50 states". Surrounding it is a nova (or "new star") representing a new beginning for all. [8]
Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of June 1, 1863, declared that all slaves in the rebel Confederate States were free. The State of Texas rejoined the Union with the end of the Civil War on April 9, 1865. On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived at the port of Galveston Texas and announced that slavery had been ended with General Order No. 3. The Juneteenth Flag has the date of June 19, 1865 displayed on it.
One year later freed slaves in Texas celebrated the first Juneteenth on June 19, and it was called "Jubilee Day". [9]
The most recognizable symbol of Juneteenth is the Juneteenth flag. [8] The flag was first flown in 2000, at Boston's Roxbury Heritage State Park. [9] Ben Haith initiated the Boston flag raising. [4] Beginning in 2020 in the United States, several state governors ordered the Juneteenth flag to be raised over their capital buildings on June 19. In 2020, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers ordered the flag to be flown for the month of June. [10] When the flag was raised in Wisconsin, state senator Lena Taylor of Milwaukee and the Wisconsin Legislative Black Caucus celebrated by raising their fists. [11] Also in 2020 the flag was raised over the Cincinnati City Hall. [12] In Illinois, Governor Pritzker ordered the flag to be flown above the Illinois State Capitol on June 19, 2021. [13] In 2021 President Joe Biden signed a law marking Juneteenth as a federal holiday. [14]
In 2020 the Boston Red Sox raised the Juneteenth flag over Fenway Park. [15] The University of Nebraska celebrated Juneteenth by flying the flag alongside their Nebraska flag in 2020. [16] The Juneteenth Flag was displayed at Fenway Park on June 19, 2022 along with the Flag of the United States of America. [17]
Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Its name is a portmanteau of the words "June" and "nineteenth", as it is celebrated on the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when as the American Civil War was ending, Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas. Originating in Galveston, Juneteenth has since been observed annually in various parts of the United States, often broadly celebrating African-American culture.
The national flag of Norway is red with a navy blue Scandinavian cross bordered in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog, the flag of Denmark.
National holidays in the United States are 11 calendar dates designated by the U.S. federal government as official holidays. On these days non-essential national offices are closed although the employees receive pay.
The Pan-African flag is a flag representing pan-Africanism, the African diaspora, and/or black nationalism. A tri-color flag, it consists of three equal horizontal bands of red, black, and green.
The flag of Texas is the official flag of the U.S. state of Texas. It is well known for its prominent single white star which gives the flag its commonly-used name: "Lone Star Flag". This lone star, in turn, gives rise to the state's nickname: "The Lone Star State". The flag, flown at homes and businesses statewide, is highly popular among Texans and is treated with a great degree of reverence and esteem within Texas. Along with the flag of Hawaii, it is one of two state flags to have previously served as a national flag of an independent country. In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed its members on the designs of the 72 U.S. state, territorial, and Canadian provincial flags and ranked the Texas flag second, behind New Mexico.
In the United States, public holidays are set by federal, state, and local governments and are often observed by closing government offices or giving government employees paid time off. The federal government does not require any private business to close or offer paid time off, as is the case for most state local governments, so employers determine which holidays to observe.
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The national flag of Ukraine consists of equally sized horizontal bands of blue and yellow.
The flag of South Carolina is a symbol of the U.S. state of South Carolina consisting of a blue field with a white palmetto tree and white crescent. Roots of this design have existed in some form since 1775, being based on one of the first American Revolutionary War flags. While keeping most of its design intact since its adoption, it has varied over the years.
Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America.
Ashton Villa is a fully restored, historic home located on the corner of 24th and Broadway in Galveston, Texas, United States. Constructed in 1859, it was one of the first brick structures in Texas built by slaves.
African American Texans or Black Texans are residents of the state of Texas who are of African ancestry and people that have origins as African-American slaves. African Americans formed a unique ethnic identity in Texas while facing the problems of societal and institutional discrimination as well as colorism for many years. The first person of African heritage to arrive in Texas was Estevanico, who came to Texas in 1528.
Although the Confederate States of America dissolved at the end of the American Civil War (1861–1865), its battle flag continues to be displayed as a symbol. The modern display began during the 1948 United States presidential election when it was used by the Dixiecrats, a political party that opposed civil rights for African Americans. Further display of the flag was a response to the civil rights movement and the passage of federal civil rights laws in the 1950s and 1960s.
In the United States there are a number of observed holidays where employees receive paid time off. The labor force in the United States comprises about 62% of the general population. In the United States, 97% of the private sector businesses determine what days this sector of the population gets paid time off, according to a study by the Society for Human Resource Management. The following holidays are observed by the majority of US businesses with paid time off: New Year's Day, New Year's Eve, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, the day after known as Black Friday, Christmas Eve and Christmas. There are also numerous holidays on the state and local level that are observed to varying degrees.
General Order No. 3 was an American legal decree issued in 1865 enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation to the residents of the U.S. state of Texas and freeing all remaining slaves in the state. The general order was issued by Union General Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865, upon arriving at Galveston, Texas, at the end of the American Civil War and two and a half years after the original issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. The order, and Granger's enforcement of it, is the central event commemorated by the holiday of Juneteenth, which originally celebrated the end of slavery in Texas.
Opal Lee is an American retired teacher, counselor, and activist in the movement to make Juneteenth a federally-recognized holiday. She is often described as the "grandmother of Juneteenth".
From the late-18th to the mid-19th century, various states of the United States of America allowed the enslavement of human beings, most of whom had been transported from Africa during the Atlantic slave trade or were their descendants. The institution of chattel slavery was established in North America in the 16th century under Spanish colonization, British colonization, French colonization, and Dutch colonization.
Shurtleff v. City of Boston, 596 U.S. ___ (2022), was a United States Supreme Court case related to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The case concerned the City of Boston's program that allowed groups to have their flags flown outside Boston City Hall. In a unanimous 9–0 decision, the Court ruled that the city violated a Christian group's free speech rights when it denied their request to raise a Christian flag over City Hall.
Hassie Benjamin Haith Jr., also known as Boston Ben, is an American activist from Boston, Massachusetts. Haith has been active in anti-crime groups since the 1980s. He is recognized as the founder of the National Juneteenth Celebration Foundation. Haith is also known for creating and copyrighting the Juneteenth flag.