In Celebration of Juneteenth 2021
The official Juneteenth flag created by Ben Haith in 1997.
Juneteenth is known as the day two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1862 when slavery was officially outlawed in the state of Texas, the last state to do so. On June 19, 1865 Black enslaved Texans were liberated and made free Americans. The holiday has long been celebrated by communities of color, however, only yesterday did Congress pass a law to make it an official federal holiday. With President Biden’s signature, Juneteenth is expected to go from an official Texas holiday to a national day of remembrance.
America’s history with slavery and racism is long and complex. As we know from the 2015 unrest following the death of Freddie Gray in police custody, to the Movement for Black Lives in response to Breonna Taylor’s and George Floyd’s killings in 2020, it is clear that racism can and does affect entire institutions at a systemic level. This, at its very root, influences and often times determines the research the Center for Health Equity has conducted for the last decade to advance health equity for socially at-risk populations. On this Juneteenth, we hope you will learn more about this historic day and recommit to our continual march toward an equal society.