The Juneteenth flag was flown for the first time Thursday in the San Diego Black Arts and Culture District in Encanto.
Organizers said it's a significant milestone for the emerging district. The flag was raised in a ceremony at the National Black Contractors Association building on the corner of Imperial Avenue and 61st Street, the start of the district.
"Even more so important than all of that," said Shane Harris, president of the People's Association of Justice Advocates. "It should be raised every single year with a ceremony that launches Juneteenth straight out of the city's Black Arts and Culture district.”
Harris said he wanted to bring the celebration "home."
Juneteenth is the celebration of the end of slavery in the United States when the last of the slaves were freed in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, at the end of the Civil War.
The Juneteenth flag, with its red, white and blue and the bursting star representing Texas and the freedom of African Americans in all 50 states, has flown over San Diego City Hall, County Administration Building and San Diego Unified School District.
But it's the first time it's flown at the heart of the Black community in San Diego.
“It makes me feel proud. It makes me feel like I'm a part of something bigger than myself,” said Phillip Coleman, president of The Block Club, a co-working artist space in the middle of the district.
The space was opened in March. It was the first of its kind to open since the district was formed in 2022.
“So for us to be able to also showcase and highlight why Juneteenth is very important to our community and also share that with other members from communities that surround us, we're ecstatic for that to happen," Coleman said. "And we think that it's a point that we'll be able to reflect on for many years to come.”
San Diego Councilmember Henry Foster III said while the community celebrates, the struggle is still not over.
"We are here to celebrate, we also must lean in," he said. "We must lean in on the realities and the reality on which our great nation was founded. And that was slavery. Let's be clear. We built this nation.”
Foster said part of the struggle is the fight to keep libraries and parks open in the district, referring to the current budget fight at city hall.
Coleman said the event inspires him to work harder to improve the district.
"Because a lot of other people are doing just as much work, if not more,” he said.
