By Miriam Raftery
Photo: Lemon Grove Mayor Racquel Vasquez and Shane Harris, President of the People's Associate of Justice Advocates, raise Juneteenth flag
June 19, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) – In honor of Juneteenth, a federal and county holiday, events and recognitions have been held across our region.
Juneteenth flags were raised in the cities of Lemon Grove and Chula Vista, at the Sweetwater Union School District,and other venues, while La Mesa hosted a Junetenth and Friends celebration.
On June19,1865, slaves in Galveston, Texas learned that they were free—over two years after President Abraham Lincoln had signed the emancipation proclamation. Juneteenth commemorates this official end to slavery in the U.S.
“It declares the Sweetwater District to recognizing the unique tragedies and triumphs of Black Americans in the past and Black contributions to the present and the future," teacher and board president Don Dumas said of the flag-raising.
"I actually pushed for the County of San Diego to declare Juneteenth a holiday and a day of service specifically in the city of Lemon Grove, and today it was quite an honor to raise the flag,” Lemon Grove Mayor Racquel Vasquez told CBS 8. Vasquez helped raise the Juneteenth flag along with Shane Harris, president of the People’s Association of Justice Advocates.
Harris traveled to Washington D.C. earlier this week along with other civil rights leaders, where he spoke at an equity march and met with Congressional officials and national leaders to advocate for very important federal pieces of legislation that will bring home resources to Black communities across San Diego and California at large,
That includes the Sgt. Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act of 2023 to extend to Black Veterans of World War II and surviving spouses eligibility for certain housing loans and educational assistance which will help Black veterans across San Diego, which has one of the largest concentrations of military personnel in the United States including Black homeless veterans, who constitute a disproportionately high percentage of our homeless population.
“Celebrating Juneteenth is not nearly enough, which is why I am here pushing for imperative federal reforms and implementing policy changes for a return on the hundreds of years of investments that African Americans have made in this country,” Harris states. “Black people deserve the best of what our country offers and should expect no less."
President Joe Biden, in a Juneteenth proclamation, stated, “One of my proudest moments as President was signing into law Juneteenth as a new Federal holiday — the first Federal holiday to be established since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day four decades prior. Juneteenth is an acknowledgment of the truth of our Nation’s history. It is about realizing the idea that America was founded on: All people are created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout their lives,” President Biden added. ”It is about the generations of brave Black leaders and selfless activists who never let us walk away from that idea...My Administration is working to ensure we continue to deliver on that idea — creating a country that truly stands for freedom, justice, dignity, and opportunity for all.”