Malden Police Raise Juneteenth Flag

MALDEN, MA — The Malden Police Department is among those recognizing Juneteenth for the first time in Massachusetts, raising the Freedom Flag at the police station Thursday.

The holiday, a portmanteau of June 19, has been celebrated by Black communities for more than 100 years. It dates back to June 1865, when Union soldiers reached Texas, freeing the last remaining slaves held by the Confederacy — a full two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

President Joe Biden made Juneteenth a federal holiday Thursday after a bill passed the U.S. House and Senate this week. It was already a state holiday in Massachusetts following a House bill signed by Gov. Charlie Baker in July 2020, which requires communities to add it as a paid holiday for its municipal employees.

The Juneteenth Freedom Flag was designed in 1997 by Ben Haith, founder of the National Juneteenth Celebration Foundation.