Juneteenth Day flag will fly over city building this year
Statement of Alderwoman Chantia Lewis June 16, 2020
I am extremely proud to be able to tell residents that the Juneteenth Day flag will fly over the City of Milwaukee’s 809 N. Broadway building this Friday – Juneteenth Day – June 19, 2020.
It will be the first time the flag has been displayed at a City of Milwaukee government building, and I am working to see if it can be flown next year on the flag pole high atop the bell tower of our historic City Hall.
Milwaukee has for decades marked the Juneteenth Day Celebration, a national event commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, with events, a parade, pageants, and a festival on King Drive. Of course the COVID-19 pandemic has canceled our usual celebration, so it is very reassuring to know the Juneteenth Day flag will be flying over downtown for everyone to see and enjoy.
The Juneteenth Day Celebration commemorates African American freedom proclaimed to all slaves in the South by Union General Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865 in Galveston, Texas, nearly two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln.
Juneteenth is the official Independence Day for African Americans across the country, and it’s important that our history is told and officially celebrated as well.
Milwaukee has one of the oldest and longest-running Juneteenth celebrations in the nation, and the flag display on Friday continues that proud tradition.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
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