Mayor Lovely Warren raised both the Juneteenth and Black Lives Matter flags at the same time at City Hall Friday. She said the Black Lives Matter movement has risen the profile of Juneteenth, which commemorates the day the last american slaves learned about the end of the civil war and their freedom, two months after the fact and more than two years after the emancipation proclamation. Warren said that moment remains pivotal.
“Our Juneteenth flag will fly high as a reminder of the day that all Americans could experience the joy and exhilaration of freedom and independence for the very first time,” Warren said.
She also praised Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s push to make Juneteenth a state holiday.
“But that probably wouldn’t be happening, at least not this year, without the advocacy and the efforts of the Black Lives Matter movement, which has focused attention on the systematic racism that black Americans in our country continue to face each and every day,” said Warren.
This is the second year in a row that the Juneteenth flag will fly at City Hall. The idea came from Gloria Johnson Hovey, a retired city school district social worker. Johnson Hovey was out of town for last year’s flag raising and got choked up seeing it for the first time.
“For the Roc Juneteenth this year, we’re honoring Harriett Tubman and one of the things she said is just keep going and this was part of it and there’s so much more to be done,” said Johnson Hovey. “So it was an amazing thrilling experience.”
She said this year’s Roc Juneteenth festivities are dedicated to the memory of Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot and killed in February while jogging in Georgia.
Johnson Hovey says this weekend’s virtual 5k is an effort to raise money to build a civil rights park at Baden Park in Rochester.
