Shay Hanlon, center, carries a Juneteenth flag, June 19, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Ever since June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed legislation making Juneteenth a U.S. federal holiday, there has been a debate over what colors should be included in the official Juneteenth flag.
Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of African American slaves. The name is derived from combining June and “nineteenth” and the event is celebrated on the anniversary of the order by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger proclaiming freedom for slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865–nearly two years after Emancipation Proclamation, which was on Jan. 1, 1863.
Actually, the Juneteenth flag reportedly goes back to the late 1990s when community organizer and activist Ben Haith came up with a flag design that has since been recreated.
Haith, known as “Boston Ben,” created the flag in 1997.
“I was just doing what God told me,” Haith told Capital B Atlanta. “I have somewhat of a marketing background, and I thought Juneteenth, what it represented, needed to have a symbol.”
Haith is the founder of the National Juneteenth Celebration Foundation.
Haith’s flag does not have what is considered the Black freedom colors–red, black, and green, the colors of the Pan-African flag. The flag Haith designed, in partnership with Lisa Jeanne Graf, features a star at its center that represents Texas, where the last slaves were freed. There is also a rising star symbolizing a new day of freedom. The flag’s colors are red, white, and blue– the same colors as the American flag.
“For so long, our ancestors weren’t considered citizens of this country,” Haith said, Vox reported. “But realistically and technically, they were citizens. They just were deprived of being recognized as citizens. So I thought it was important that the colors portray red, white, and blue, which we see in the American flag.”
Steven Williams, the president of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, agreed with the sentiment.
“We’re Americans of African descent,” Williams said. His foundation’s mission statement, he added, “is to bring all Americans together to join our common bond of freedom.”
Haith said he understood why people could have some hesitancy around using a red, white, and blue flag.
“Some of us were raised to recognize the American flag, we salute the American flag, we pledged allegiance to the American flag,” Haith said when asked about skepticism around the flag. “We had relatives who went to war to fight for this country. We put a lot into this country, even when our ancestors were enslaved. They worked to help make this country an economic power in the world.”
But to some Black people, the colors of the American flag do not represent freedom and equality.
Most Black people celebrate Juneteenth with a red, green, and black flag, similar to the Pan-African Flag or the Black Liberation Flag, Tim Goler, an assistant professor of sociology and urban affairs at Norfolk State University and research director at the Center for African American Public Policy, told USA Today.
“You can see why cities would (use the 1997 flag),” Goler said. “Some cities will use the red, white, and blue colors because they have a constituency larger than just African Americans they’re trying to appease. A lot of times, (using red, black, and green) might cause problems, but if you look at most community-based organizations, pretty much every single Black organization, they all use red, black and green.”
Shay Hanlon, center, carries a Juneteenth flag while marching in a parade held to commemorate the holiday, June 19, 2023, in Boston. Americans across the country are observing the relatively new Juneteenth federal holiday with festivals, parades, cookouts and other gatherings. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
