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The
Juneteenth
flag is
full of
symbols.
Here's
what
they
mean
By
Harmeet
Kaur,
CNN
Design
by Will
Mullery,
CNN
(CNN)You
might
see
another
red,
white
and blue
flag
flying
today
over
state
capitols
and city
buildings.
That
banner
with a
bursting
star in
the
middle
is the
Juneteenth
Flag, a
symbolic
representation
of the
end of
slavery
in the
United
States.
The flag
is the
brainchild
of
activist
Ben
Haith,
founder
of the
National
Juneteenth
Celebration
Foundation
(NJCF).
Haith
created
the flag
in 1997
with the
help of
collaborators,
and
Boston-based
illustrator
Lisa
Jeanne
Graf
brought
their
vision
to life.
The
flag was
revised
in 2000
into the
version
we know
today,
according
to the
National
Juneteenth
Observation
Foundation.
Seven
years
later,
the date
"June
19,
1865"
was
added,
commemorating
the day
that
Union
Army
Maj.
Gen.
Gordon
Granger
rode
into
Galveston,
Texas,
and told
enslaved
African
Americans
of their
emancipation.
For
two
decades
now,
communities
around
the
country
have
held
flag-raising
ceremonies
on
Juneteenth
in
celebration
of their
freedom.
"This
country
has so
many
aspects
to it
that are
spiritual,
and I
believe
this
flag is
of that
nature,"
Haith
said.
"It (the
idea for
the
design)
just
came
through
me."
Designing
the flag
and its
symbols
was a
deliberate
process,
Haith
said.
Here's
what
each
element
of the
flag
represents.
- The
white
star in
the
center
of the
flag has
a dual
meaning,
Haith
said.
For one,
it
represents
Texas,
the Lone
Star
State.
It was
in
Galveston
in 1865
where
Union
soldiers
informed
the
country's
last
remaining
enslaved
people
that,
under
the
Emancipation
Proclamation
issued
two
years
earlier,
they
were
free.
But the
star
also
goes
beyond
Texas,
representing
the
freedom
of
African
Americans
in all
50
states.
- The
bursting
outline
around
the star
is
inspired
by a
nova, a
term
that
astronomers
use to
mean a
new
star.
On the
Juneteenth
flag,
this
represents
a new
beginning
for the
African
Americans
of
Galveston
and
throughout
the
land.
- The
curve
that
extends
across
the
width of
the flag
represents
a new
horizon:
the
opportunities
and
promise
that lay
ahead
for
black
Americans.
- The
red,
white
and blue
represents
the
American
flag, a
reminder
that
slaves
and
their
descendants
were and
are
Americans.
June 19,
1865,
represents
the day
that
enslaved
black
people
in
Galveston,
Texas,
became
Americans
under
the law.
And
while
African
Americans
today
are
still
fighting
for
equality
and
justice,
Haith
said
those
colors
symbolize
the
continuous
commitment
of
people
in the
United
States
to do
better
-- and
to live
up to
the
American
ideal of
liberty
and
justice
for all.
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