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Flag raising ceremony to feature historian, local leaders to honor Juneteenth holiday

Event to take place in downtown Ann Arbor

The Juneteenth flag, commemorating the day that slavery ended in the U.S., flies in Omaha, Nebraska, on Wednesday, June 17, 2020. (Nati Harnik, Associated Press)

ANN ARBOR – A flag-raising ceremony and public program honoring Juneteenth will kick off at 10 a.m. on Tuesday in the atrium of the Washtenaw County Administration building, at 220 N. Main St., in downtown Ann Arbor.

Organizers said the event “celebrates the day that word of emancipation reached enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas, in 1865, two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation” in a notice.

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For its third year, the ceremony will follow the theme of “Facing the Rising Sun.”

It will feature faith leaders, area youth, county commissioners and a local historian Beverly Willis, the co-chair of exhibits for the African American Cultural and History Museum.

Participants will move from the atrium to the flagpole at 200 N. Main St. to raise the Juneteenth Flag.

County offices, and Ann Arbor municipal offices including Larcom City Hall, will be closed on Monday in observance of the holiday.


About the Author
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Sarah has worked for WDIV since June 2018. She covers community events, good eats and small businesses in Ann Arbor and has a Master's degree in Applied Linguistics from Grand Valley State University.

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