Political Gumbo: Fly the Juneteenth Flag

The City will honor Juneteenth on June 14 at City Hall, replete with free family-friendly activities, arts and crafts by Armory Center for the Arts, a live DJ, and roller skating.

We all know the story of Juneteenth by now, or we should. Two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which only freed slaves in Confederate states, troops entered Galveston, Texas and freed the remaining slaves there.

Upon learning they were free, the former slaves immediately began celebrating their freedom, who wouldn’t?

Today Juneteenth is celebrated as the end of slavery and is a time to reflect on Black History and culture.

That said, and at the risk of repeating myself, the City should fly the Juneteenth flag in honor of the federal holiday.

Yes, it is largely symbolic as it was not the end of slavery in the union.

Slaves in Delaware, among other places, remained in bondage until December 1865 when the 13th Amendment was ratified.

Of course, even after that, the fight for freedom and equality endured through Jim Crow and the Civil Rights Movement.

On an aside, far too many people are still enslaved, only now they are held back by the shackles of drugs, violence, poverty and hopelessness.

Many of them don’t expect the troops to come.

In my mind, the ultimate message of Juneteenth is, freedom is always precious. You can get to a better place.

The City does have a connection to Juneteenth. The City incorporated on Juneteenth in 1886, 19 years after troops rode into Galveston.

In the big scheme of things that’s not long after Galveston.

At a point, when social liberties are being pushed to the brink and speech is being threatened, City leaders should reassure its residents that equality and tolerance are always at the forefront.

That’s not to say they don’t.

But we can always do more.

Juneteenth should be about sending a message of hope to all people.

We all can overcome the chains that bind us.

But just as Francis Scott Key got his hope when he saw that “our flag was still there,” others get their hope and perseverance from other symbols and that’s okay too.

Today, the Pride Flag flies at City Hall and it should.

Respect.

But there’s room for more than one flag.

Freedom is for everybody.

Fly the flag.