Federal Way hosts annual Juneteenth flag raising ceremony

Speakers at Federal Way’s ceremony reflected on how far the nation has come.

By Max Burchi • June 18, 2024 4:37 pm

Federal Way, for the fifth year in a row, honored the legacy of the federal holiday Juneteenth.

On June 18, elected officials and members of the Federal Way community gathered in front of City Hall to celebrate Juneteenth with a flag raising ceremony.

Juneteenth marks the day Union soldiers entered Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, and let the last enslaved African Americans know they were free. There, over 250,000 Black Americans were released from slavery, the final group out of nearly 4 million enslaved people in 1860.

Speakers at Federal Way’s ceremony reflected on how far the nation has come, and how much more progress there can be.

“We gather today to raise this flag in celebration and remembrance. Let this flag serve as a powerful reminder of the hardships African people endured in this country and the struggles they have overcome and continue to face today,” Diversity Commission Chair Saudia Abdullah said to the crowd outside City Hall. “May it also be a call to action urging us to stand up and push back against the institutional systems that seek to create second class citizens out of those who built this nation for free.”

President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 announced the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring the freedom of all enslaved people in the rebellious Confederate States. This proclamation freed millions of enslaved Americans by law, but it did not come into full effect until June 19, 1865.

The Juneteenth flag acts as a representation of the past and the new America created after 1865.

“The red, white and blue colors represent the American Flag, a reminder that slaves, and their descendants, were and are Americans,” said State Rep. Jamila Taylor, who represents the 30th Legislative District. “The arch that extends the across width of the flag represents a new horizon, the opportunities and promise that lay ahead for Black Americans … The bursting outline around the star is inspired by a nova, a term astronomers use to mean a new star. This represents a new beginning for African Americans.”

Speakers at the Federal Way ceremony repeatedly honored the past and the shoulders whom they stand upon, while offering a promising future ahead.

“Although the road has been hard, we know what it feels like today to win because we are standing upon the shoulders of those who have come before us,” said Sheley Secrest, president of Washington State NAACP. “Because of them, we have state representatives inside of the highest powers of Washington state. Because of them, we have successful business owners. Because of them we are here.”

In 2021, President Joe Biden made Juneteenth an official federal holiday, the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This year’s ceremony in Federal Way marks the fifth year the city has celebrated Juneteenth.

“The event went marvelously. It was great to see so many members of the community out,” Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell said on the growth of the flag raising tradition. “I think we are gaining ground. We are coming together as a community. This is really becoming one of the seminal events for this region.”