Salt Lake City leaders, Black community mark Juneteenth, raise controversial new city flag
Juneteenth is next week, and leaders in the Black community and their advocates gathered to preemptively mark the holiday, stressing the importance of resilience.
The theme of Tuesday's gathering at the Salt Lake City-County Building was 'And Still We Rise,' which Betty Sawyer, one of the speakers, said is pertinent today. Sawyer serves as head of the Ogden branch of the NAACP and was instrumental in the passage of legislation by Utah lawmakers in 2022, making Juneteenth, June 19, a state holiday.
The theme was selected to underscore the importance of 'not getting overwhelmed by circumstances, good, bad or indifferent, but to recognize and embrace the resilience that we have, the tenacity that we have and, most importantly, the love that we have for one another,' she said. Together, 'when we decide to do something, there's no stopping us.'
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall also addressed the gathering, which drew around 100 people, noting the controversial new city flag that city officials approved last month, which incorporates the blue and red Juneteenth flag. HB77, approved by state lawmakers earlier this year, in effect prohibits the display of flags perceived as political at schools and local government offices. City officials added a sego lily flower to the Juneteenth flag and adopted it as an official city flag on May 6 to circumvent the law.
'This is what determination, partnership, creativity looks like,' Mendenhall said, referencing the new flag. 'Our values aren't changing. Diversity, equity, inclusion are our values. They're American values. That will never change.'
Mendenhall's remarks drew applause from those on hand, but Gov. Spencer Cox blasted the flag when asked about it separately at his regularly monthly press conference later on Tuesday. In approving the Juneteenth-inspired flags last month, the City Council also adopted gay pride and transgender flags with sego lilies on them as official city flags, to get around HB77.
'They're dumb flags, and it was a dumb bill,' Cox said, noting that other racial and ethnic groups are left out. 'It's ridiculous. I feel bad for the Japanese Americans. I feel bad for the Polynesian Americans. I mean, who are we leaving out here? I'm sure they feel great that they got around this dumb law, and they did it with dumb flags. The whole thing is dumb.'
The tone at Tuesday's ceremony, however, remained upbeat with a measure of defiance.
She doesn't know if the Juneteenth flag will require a sego lily on it in years to come so that it can be flown outside the Salt Lake City-County Building, 'but this city's committed forever,' Mendenhall said. The Juneteenth flag, she went on, 'celebrates freedom, a new horizon, and it honors the bloodshed by the enslaved people who were oppressed for hundreds of years.'
Though meant to celebrate the end of slavery, Juneteenth more specifically marks June 19, 1865. That's the day when Union troops reached Galveston, Texas — months after the end of the U.S. Civil War — to let some 250,000 African Americans know they were free. Some leaders in the Black community refer to Juneteenth, a federal and state holiday, as their second Independence Day, after July 4.
'The legacy of Juneteenth reminds us to never give up hope in uncertain times, to remember the resilience of generations that came before us and to keep these important stories and lived experiences alive, both today and for our shared future,' said Utah Rep. Sandra Collins, D-Salt Lake City. She sponsored the 2022 legislation making Juneteenth a state holiday in Utah.
Numerous activities are scheduled around Utah in the days to come to mark Juneteenth.
Ogden will host a Juneteenth Freedom Festival at the Ogden Amphitheater from Friday, June 13, to Sunday, June 15, featuring musical performances, a car show and much more. It's organized by Project Success, led by Sawyer.
The city of Millcreek is hosting a Juneteenth celebration on June 18 from 6-10 p.m. at Millcreek Common.
Salt Lake Juneteenth will be held June 19 at The Gateway in Salt Lake City from noon to 10 p.m.
The Juneteenth Healing and Reconciliation Vigil will be held June 28 at the International Peace Gardens at Jordan Park in Salt Lake City from 4-6 p.m.
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