[1] Haith displayed the first version of the Juneteenth flag in June 1997 at Boston's John Eliot Square District.

It was described by Patricia Smith of the Boston Globe as, "A banner adorned with sunbursts and flaming candles".

[6] Running through the center of the flag horizontally, is an arc that is meant to symbolize the new horizon of opportunity for black people.

[7] The red, white, and blue colors were meant to convey the message that all enslaved people and their descendants are American.

[8] Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, declared that all slaves in the rebel Confederate States were free.

One year later freed slaves in Texas celebrated the first Juneteenth on June 19, and it was called "Jubilee Day".

[8][dubious – discuss] The flag was first flown in 2000, at Boston's Roxbury Heritage State Park.

[14] In 2021 President Joe Biden signed a law marking Juneteenth as a federal holiday.