Juneteenth (short for “June nineteenth”) is the oldest known holiday commemorating the end of American Slavery. On July 4, 1776, when the United States declared freedom from British rule, liberty was only granted to a certain group of individuals. For enslaved black Americans, who constituted a large portion of the American population, freedom would not come for nearly 100 years when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation took effect January 1st, 1863; however, the last slaves were not freed until June 19, 1865, a full two and a half years later.

FREEDOM FINDERS is a virtual activity learning unit that tells the story of Juneteenth using the arts and social studies.  Every student who participates will be invited to visit Louisville’s Waterfront Park for self-guided activities.

Our activities use Kentucky’s 5th grade learning standards for the arts and social studies.

Background information and history on Juneteenth can be found via the links below:

Official Juneteenth Flag

In 1997, Ben Haith, the founder of the National Juneteenth Celebration Foundation (NJCF) created the official Juneteenth flag. Eventually Haith led the holiday's initial flag raising ceremony in Boston's Roxbury Heritage Park, according to the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF).

You'll see that the Juneteenth flag uses the exact same colors as the United States's flag: red, white, and blue. This was intentional and meant to show that the formerly enslaved and their descendants are free Americans, too.

According to NJOF, here's what the individual symbols depicted in the flag represent:

The Arc: A new horizon, meaning fresh opportunities and promising futures for Black Americans

The Star: Not only is it a nod to the Lone Star State, Texas, (where Juneteenth was first celebrated in 1865), but it also stands for the freedom of every Black American in all 50 states

The Burst: The outline surrounding the star is meant to reflect a nova— or new star—which represents a new beginning for all

You may see other colors, flags, and symbols on Juneteenth, but this flag was intentionally created for this specific holiday.