Juneteenth

Ascension Hermitage and Sanctuary proudly joins the celebration of Juneteenth! [Alas, in this very rainy day, the red of the flag appears more of a magenta color - but it really is red!]

Read more about the real Juneteenth flag below.

In 1997, more than two centuries after Betsy Ross is said to have sewn the first American flag, Ben Haith, founder of the National Juneteenth Celebration Foundation, developed a new American flag. The activist, also known as Boston Ben, led a team of collaborators who created the design concept for the flag as a reflection of the Juneteenth slogan “a new freedom, a new people, a new star.” As Haith’s foundation puts it, the design represents “a star of Texas bursting with new freedom throughout the land” and rising over a new horizon.
 

The paragraph above and those below are taken from a Reader's Digest article by Sheena Foster, updated on May 11, 2026, Here's What the Colors and Symbols of the Juneteenth flag mean:

A quick glance at the Juneteenth flag will show you there are three main symbols, each of which holds a special meaning. On her website, Lisa Jeanne Graf, the woman who fine-tuned the final version of the Juneteenth flag, offers a succinct explanation of its key elements: “The Juneteenth flags represent the history and freedom [of] the American slaves and their descendants. The design of the Juneteenth flag depicts a bursting new star on the horizon. The star represents ‘a new freedom, a new people, a new star.'” 

The star at the center of the Juneteenth flag represents the state of Texas, which played a pivotal role in the holiday’s origin story. The Lone Star State’s flag, like the Juneteenth flag, also features a solitary star in its design. But in the latter, the star stands not for the freedom of people in one state but for the freedom of Black Americans in every state.

The burst around the star represents a nova, which, in astronomical terms, is a brand-new star. It was intended to symbolize a new beginning for Black Americans in the country they helped build.

The curve that serves as the border between red and blue stands for new horizons. Emancipation was supposed to bring a brighter collective future for Black Americans. Although their dreams wouldn’t begin to be truly realized until after desegregation and the Civil Rights Act of 1964—a century after emancipation—the curve is symbolic of the hope that drove Black Americans then and continues to drive them to this day, even as institutional racism persists.