FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 5, 2025
City of Kingston Celebrates Juneteenth with Flags Along Broadway Corridor
KINGSTON, NY – Mayor Steven T. Noble is pleased to announce that the City of Kingston will celebrate Juneteenth by installing official flags on light posts along Broadway, in the heart of Midtown.
The Juneteenth flags, which were installed this week by the Department of Public Works, feature a bursting white star in the center of a red and blue background that curves in an arc, symbolizing a new horizon of opportunity for Black people.
“We are proud to celebrate a Juneteenth in the City of Kingston, and for the first time will have flags along Broadway to honor the holiday, pay tribute to its history, and work toward a brighter, more equitable future. I want to thank Alderwoman Jeanne Edwards for her efforts in arranging the flags, and to the Department of Public Works for mounting them this week.”
Ward 4 Alderwoman Jeanne Edwards said, “Raising these flags is the beginning for healing, and renewing our commitment to recognizing what our enslaved brothers and sisters went through. As Michelle Obama said, ‘our story is one of progress.’ These flags represent progress for our community.”
City of Kingston Director of Arts & Cultural Affairs Kitt Potter said, “As we near the 400th anniversary of the first ships trafficking in Africans into New York State, and the 200th anniversary of the emancipation of slaves in New York, we continue to be shocked by studies of our archives which reveal Ulster as among the most brutal slave counties in the country. On Juneteenth we celebrate that, after we took corrective action, enacted manumission, fought and won the Civil War, that Juneteenth was proclaimed an official City of Kingston holiday in 2021 by Mayor Noble, a major milestone in the city’s 153-year history. I’m also proud that Kingston’s Juneteenth celebration, hosted by Harambee Kingston for the past ten years, is the epitome of its mission-- the coming together of all people. I wish everyone from all parts of the world a blessed holiday and hope that every town, city, nation, country will join us on Juneteenth 2025 as we celebrate freedom!”
City of Kingston offices will be closed in observance of Juneteenth on Thursday, June 19, 2025. Harambee Kingston will host the annual Juneteenth event on Saturday, June 21, from 10:00am to 6:00pm at the Pine Street African Burial Ground. More information at www.harambeekingstonny.org.
Juneteenth commemorates the official end of slavery in the United States on June 19, 1865, the date that emancipation was declared in Texas two and a half years after the official signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. It became of Federal holiday in 2021, an official New York State holiday in 2020, and a City of Kingston holiday in 2022.