San Diegans celebrated Juneteenth with the first ever flag-raising ceremony in the city’s Black Arts and Culture District Thursday morning.
Organized by civil rights advocate and entrepreneur Shane Harris, the ceremony opened with the raising of the Juneteenth flag followed by performances by singers Fabiola and Jehlad Akin.
June 19th – recognized as Juneteenth – marks the day in 1865 that slaves in Galveston, Texas received the order that they were free, nearly two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
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It is now a commemoration of the day that slavery ended in the United States. The day was first established as a state holiday in Texas in 1980. In 2021, Juneteenth was made a federal holiday by President Biden.
“Black people are very much a part of the fabric of the building of this country, and very much so a part of the soul of America,” Harris said.
The Juneteenth flag was raised atop the National Black Contractors Association building at the edge of the Black Arts and Culture District, a location that symbolizes the shared mission that both the holiday and the neighborhood represent, according to Harris. Harris previously led two other Juneteenth flag raisings in San Diego – one at the San Diego Unified School District in 2021, and most recently in the city of Lemon Grove in 2024.
Having grown up in Encanto, a neighborhood located within the arts district, Harris described the event as both a return to his roots, and the most important flag raising he’s ever organized.
He added that this year, it was important to him that the flag be raised in a community historically known as a hub for Black San Diegans.
“We wanted to make sure that this flag was raised in the epicenter of where Black culture in San Diego has been for so long,” Harris said.
Established in 2022 after the San Diego City Council unanimously approved its creation, the district was designated as eight city blocks in Encanto, along Imperial Avenue between 61st and 69th Street.
Historically, the neighborhood holds significance to the local Black community, as restrictive covenants in the 1950s meant that Black residents were limited to neighborhoods located south of Market Street, according to the Voice of San Diego.
These laws moved black businesses further east until a community formed along Imperial.
Today, the district is home to the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Art and 21 unique Black arts, culture and business organizations.
Harris said he is currently in talks with Del Mar Mayor Terry Gaasterland to host next year’s Juneteenth flag raising event in the coastal city.
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