U.S. General Services Administration
Juneteenth Flag flies for the first time in Region 8
A new flag flew outside of the Cesar Chavez Memorial Building in downtown Denver as well as on the flagpole at Gate 1 of the Denver Federal Center (DFC) on June 18.
For the first time ever, Region 8 employees raised the Juneteenth flag in support of the newest federal holiday.
President Joseph Biden authorized Juneteenth to be a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, making it the first since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was approved in 1983. It is named Juneteenth as a combination of words “June” and “nineteen.”
Juneteenth commemorates the day when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas and enslaved Africans received word that their enslavement was illegal and they were now free. This was more than two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
“This is a great day. GSA is raising this flag for the first time,” said Regional Administrator Denise Maes, who was present at the Chavez flag raising ceremony. “It lets everyone who passes by know that we are committed to ensuring everyone is valued and that we are living up to the potential that everyone is free and equal.”
The Juneteenth Flag was created in 1997 and is filled with symbolism. The colors of the flag are red, white and blue to represent enslaved people were also Americans. The white star in the middle represents Texas, where the Union soldiers freed the remaining enslaved people, as well as for all 50 states. The burst in the middle represents a new star from a nova and the arc represents a new horizon following their freedom. The June 19,1865 was added in 2007 commemorating the date of emancipation.
“I am so proud to be a part of this historic moment at GSA,” said Tito Register, the Black Employee Program Chair. “Each year that we do this, we bring more awareness to not only our past but also how we are progressing toward the future.”