It’s Juneteenth! – The Rest Of The Story

If you should see this flag flying today (or this week) on government or city buildings it is in celebration of Juneteenth. What is Juneteenth you might ask?

On June 19th, 1865 Union Army Major General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas and told the slaves living there of their emancipation. Word had not reached them yet, though they had actually been freed some 2 years earlier.

The white star at the center of the flag, has a double meaning. Firstly it represents Texas as the Lone Star State where the last remaining slaves in the U.S. learned of their freedom. But the star also represents the freedom of all African Americans in all 50 states.

The colors of the flag, red white and blue, are a reminder that slaves and their descendants were and are Americans. June 19th, 1865 represents the day that the enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas became Americans under the law.

And now you know why it is a day to celebrate…now you know the rest of the story!