Photos: Pasadena college students raise the Juneteenth flag
2 years ago
Juneteenth #Juneteenth
People look on during a ceremony to raise the Juneteenth Flag at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena Friday, June 17, 2022. The flag-raising kicks off a week of programs at the college to celebrate Juneteenth and educate people about the event’s historical importance. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
People look on during a ceremony to raise the Juneteenth Flag at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena Friday, June 17, 2022. The flag-raising kicks off a week of programs at the college to celebrate Juneteenth and educate people about the event’s historical importance. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
College faculty member Dr. Sheree Bielecki and Dean of Students Michael Lopez-Patton prepare to raise the Juneteenth Flag during a ceremony at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena Friday, June 17, 2022. The flag-raising kicks off a week of programs at the college to celebrate Juneteenth and educate people about the event’s historical importance. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Faculty, students and the public display the Juneteenth Flag during a ceremony to raise it at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena Friday, June 17, 2022. The flag-raising kicks off a week of programs at the college to celebrate Juneteenth and educate people about the event’s historical importance. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
College faculty member Dr. Sheree Bielecki’s colorfully decorated fingernails during a Juneteenth Flag raising ceremony at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena Friday, June 17, 2022. The flag-raising kicks off a week of programs at the college to celebrate Juneteenth and educate people about the event’s historical importance. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
College faculty member Dr. Sheree Bielecki’s fingernails with “1865” written on them during a Juneteenth Flag raising ceremony at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena Friday, June 17, 2022. The flag-raising kicks off a week of programs at the college to celebrate Juneteenth and educate people about the event’s historical importance. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
People look on during a ceremony to raise the Juneteenth Flag at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena Friday, June 17, 2022. The flag-raising kicks off a week of programs at the college to celebrate Juneteenth and educate people about the event’s historical importance. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
College faculty member Dr. Sheree Bielecki is hugged by fellow faculty member Dr. Mary Starks during a Juneteenth Flag raising ceremony at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena Friday, June 17, 2022. The flag-raising kicks off a week of programs at the college to celebrate Juneteenth and educate people about the event’s historical importance. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
College faculty member Dr. Sheree Bielecki raises the Juneteenth Flag during a ceremony at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena Friday, June 17, 2022. The flag-raising kicks off a week of programs at the college to celebrate Juneteenth and educate people about the event’s historical importance. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
People take photographs during a ceremony to raise the Juneteenth Flag at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena Friday, June 17, 2022. The flag-raising kicks off a week of programs at the college to celebrate Juneteenth and educate people about the event’s historical importance. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
People look on during a ceremony to raise the Juneteenth Flag at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena Friday, June 17, 2022. The flag-raising kicks off a week of programs at the college to celebrate Juneteenth and educate people about the event’s historical importance. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The during Juneteenth Flag flies under a Pacific Oaks College banner during a ceremony to raise the Juneteenth Flag at college in Pasadena Friday, June 17, 2022. The flag-raising kicks off a week of programs at the college to celebrate Juneteenth and educate people about the event’s historical importance. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
People look on during a ceremony to raise the Juneteenth Flag at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena Friday, June 17, 2022. The flag-raising kicks off a week of programs at the college to celebrate Juneteenth and educate people about the event’s historical importance. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
College faculty member Dr. Sheree Bielecki carries the Juneteenth Flag to a flagpole to be raised during a ceremony to raise the Juneteenth Flag at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena Friday, June 17, 2022. The flag-raising kicks off a week of programs at the college to celebrate Juneteenth and educate people about the event’s historical importance. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Students and faculty raised the Juneteenth Flag at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena on Friday, June 17, kicking off a week of programs at the college to celebrate Juneteenth and to educate people about the holiday’s growing importance.
This weekend in Southern California will be packed with Juneteenth events, as the holiday grows in recognition and popularity.
Juneteenth is the commemoration of the end of slavery — specifically in Galveston, Texas, where it arrived more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.
“(Our goal is) to bring awareness to the history and to spread recognition that Juneteenth is a federal holiday. A lot of times people don’t know the background of a celebration,” said Dr. Sheree Bielecki, one of the faculty organizers of the events.
The school also launched a gallery of photos with accompanying QR codes linked to information about Juneteenth on Friday.
“We’re really proud to live our core values, one of which is social justice,” said Michael Lopez-Patton, dean of students. “This is important to us to celebrate Juneteenth with members of the community.”
Although the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in the South in 1863, it could not be enforced in many places until after the end of the Civil War in 1865.
Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger and his troops arrived at Galveston on June 19, 1865, with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. That was more than two months after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia.
Granger delivered General Order No. 3, which said: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.”
The next year, the now-free people started celebrating Juneteenth in Galveston. Its observance has continued around the nation and the world since. Events include concerts, parades and readings of the Emancipation Proclamation.
The term Juneteenth is a blend of the words June and nineteenth. The holiday has also been called Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day.
Often celebrated at first with church picnics and speeches, the holiday spread across the nation and internationally as Black Texans moved elsewhere.
People look on during a ceremony to raise the Juneteenth Flag at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena Friday, June 17, 2022. The flag-raising kicks off a week of programs at the college to celebrate Juneteenth and educate people about the event’s historical importance. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Recognition of Juneteenth gained traction after the police killing of George Floyd in 2020. President Joe Biden signed legislation that made the celebration a federal holiday in June 2021.
At least 24 states and the District of Columbia will legally recognize Juneteenth as a public holiday this year, according to the Pew Research Center.
At least six states officially adopted the holiday over the past few months, including Connecticut, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, South Dakota, Utah and Washington. A bill introduced in California passed the Assembly and moved to the Senate this month.
What’s closed for Juneteenth, Monday, June 20, in the Los Angeles area
Where to find Juneteenth events, on and around June 19, in LA County
Memorial Day observances, May 30, in memory of those who served in the U.S. armed forces
What’s closed for Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, in the Los Angeles area
The City Council approved a proclamation Friday, already signed by Mayor Eric Garcetti, to officially make Juneteenth, a paid holiday for Los Angeles city employees. Carson also made Juneteenth an official government holiday earlier this year.
The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this report
People look on during a ceremony to raise the Juneteenth Flag at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena Friday, June 17, 2022. The flag-raising kicks off a week of programs at the college to celebrate Juneteenth and educate people about the event’s historical importance. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)