St. Pete Communities Celebrate Juneteenth With Unfurling Of Flag

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — St. Pete organizations and community leaders are showing support in a variety of ways for the country's new federal holiday, Juneteenth.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas — two months after the Confederacy had surrendered. That was also about 2 1/2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the Southern states.

President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth holiday into law on Thursday, June 17. With the signing, it has become the 12th federal holiday. Come OUT St. Pete has extended its rainbow flag to 375 feet after adding inclusive colors to its flag to represent unity and solidarity with the Black community.

The LGBTQ organization along with 100 volunteers will unfurl the flag Sunday evening in front of the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum in honor of Juneteenth.

It's the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created in 1983.

Mayor Rick Kriseman stood in front of the St. Petersburg Council June 3, and declared June 19 as Juneteenth Day in St. Petersburg. "And whereas emancipation in Florida was proclaimed in Tallahassee on May 20, 1865. And whereas June 19 has a special meaning to African Americans, and it's called Juneteenth, combining the words June and nineteenth, and has been celebrated by the African American community for over 150 years. Now therefore, I Rick Kriseman, mayor of the city of St. Petersburg, Florida, do hereby, proclaim June 19, 2021, to be Juneteenth in St. Petersburg."

Eric Deggans, a St. Petersburg resident, and NPR's first full-time TV critic, also showed support of this historic day with other Black colleagues of his as they recorded themselves reading sections of the Emancipation Proclamation. Deggans tweeted, "So honored to join several of my Black colleagues at @NPR in reading the Emancipation Proclamation on the radio to commemorate Juneteenth. Listen here: NPR Celebrates Juneteenth.

In celebration of Juneteenth, join community members and Come OUT St. Pete for Together We Rise: Juneteenth Rainbow Flag Unfurling. The Dr. Carter G. Woodson Museum hosts the unfurling of the flag at the Black Lives Matter mural, 2240 Ninth Avenue South, St. Petersburg. It is scheduled 7 p.m.-9 p.m., June 20.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related Patch Story:

• Biden Signs Bill Making Juneteenth A National Holiday: Replay