The City of Boulder will raise the Juneteenth Flag.

Juneteenth is a holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.

Although Emancipation Proclamation declared enslaved people in Confederate states free on January 1, 1863, many enslaved people remained in bondage because the Union Army could not enforce the proclamation everywhere during the Civil War.

On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and announced that enslaved people in Texas were free. For many, this was the first time they learned of their freedom, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued.

The date became known as “Juneteenth,” combining “June” and “nineteenth.” Black communities began celebrating it as a day of freedom, remembrance, family gatherings, education, and cultural pride.

Today, Juneteenth serves as both:

• A celebration of Black freedom, resilience, and achievement.
• A reminder that freedom and equality have often been delayed, contested, and incomplete in American history.