Juneteenth, celebrated each year on June 19th, commemorates the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that approximately 250,000 enslaved African Americans in Texas were free. Although the Emancipation Proclamation had declared enslaved people in the south free on January 1, 1863, its enforcement depended on the advance of Union forces. Today, Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom, resilience, culture, and community.

In 2016 at 89 years old Opal Lee walked 1,400 miles from her home in Texas to Washington D.C. to bring National attention. In 2021, Juneteenth was officially recognized as a federal holiday led by Opal Lee, the “Grandmother of Juneteenth”.

The red, white, and blue Juneteenth flag, created in 1997 by activist Ben Haith and later refined with illustrator Lisa Jeanne Graf, symbolizes freedom for all Americans. Its bursting star represents a new beginning and the freedom of formerly enslaved people, while the arc across the flag represents a new horizon and the promise of a brighter future.