Page 8 - Dash (June 30, 2021)

A Glimpse of US History

Juneteenth Freedom Day +straive M

By Robinson Copland, Manager, HR US Connecting the dots

A historic event occurred today, June 17, 2021, in a formal and national
recognition of Juneteenth as a Federal holiday. For those unfamiliar, June 19, Webinar

1865, was the day Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Accessibility: Beyond Compliance
Black people in Galveston, T e xas, one of the last remaining strongholds after
the Confederacy had been defeated and more than two and a half years after

the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted. This day became known as
Juneteenth. The signing and creation of Juneteenth as a federal holiday was When: Wednesday, June 30, 2021 I 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT, 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM GMT

the first of the 21st century. The last enactment was in 1983 when it was
declared as a federal holiday by Martin Luther King Jr. Day was declared a
federal holiday.

Allow me to introduce Ben Haith, activist and founder of the National

Juneteenth Celebration Foundation. Haith created the Juneteenth flag in
1997 and later the date was added on the side in 2000. The star has two

meanings. First, it symbolizes T e xas, the Lone Star state, as they were the
last state to recognize the freedom of the slaves. And second, it represents
the freedom of African Americans in all 50 states. The burst outlining the star

is inspired by a nova, a new star. Haith used this to represent a new beginning Todd Marquis Boutin Samuel Proulx
for African Americans throughout the land. The arc that extends across the Senior Director, Accessibility Accessibility Evangelist

width of the flag represents a new horizon of opportunities that lay ahead. Straive Fable
The red, white and blue colors represent the American flag and a reminder
that slaves and their descendants were, are and forever will be, Americans.

Lastly, the date represents when the slaves in Galveston, T e xas became
Americans under the law.

Ben Haith and Gilbert Baker, designers of

the Pride flag, had transformed fabric into a
symbol of unity, awareness, hope and pride.
Jennifer Chadwick
Lead Accessibility Strategist
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