North Las Vegas community honors Juneteenth with flag raising — PHOTOS
Around 50 people gathered outside North Las Vegas City Hall on Wednesday morning for a ceremonial raising of the Juneteenth flag.
Juneteenth, held every June 19, commemorates the day when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, finally learned of their freedom in 1865, two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, during the Civil War.
The day was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021. The city of North Las Vegas has raised the Juneteenth flag outside City Hall every year since then.
The flag-raising event included speeches from North Las Vegas Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown and Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev.; a Juneteenth proclamation presentation to Deborah Evans, president of Juneteenth Nevada; musical performances from Ralonda Green and Rachel Oliver-Cobbin; and a dance performance by Studio 305.
Goynes-Brown opened the ceremony by acknowledging Juneteenth as a day to reflect on the past and “recommit to the work that still lies ahead.”
“It just reminds us of freedom that was not given to all at once, but fought for over time with courage, with determination and with faith, and that spirit is alive right here in this community,” she said. “We’re celebrating the legacy of those who came before us, and we’re also lifting up our shared commitment to equity, equality, to justice and opportunity for every single citizen here in our community.”
Horsford told those in attendance that “we all have a role to play” in remembering Black history and creating a more equal society.
“Juneteenth is indeed a day to educate, to inspire and to empower,” he said. “It’s a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come as a society, and how much farther we still have to go to realize the original promise of the Declaration of Independence.”
Members of the North Las Vegas Fire and Police Department Honor Guard raised the blue and red Juneteenth Flag while the audience stood, and Green sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a hymn referred to as the “Black National Anthem.”
The gathering concluded with a performance of “Sing Out/March On” by Oliver-Cobbin and a dance performance by Studio 305 to a remix of “Wade in the Water.”
Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.
