The Juneteenth flag will be flown over the state Capitol building in Madison for the first time in state history.
Gov. Tony Evers issued an executive order Wednesday calling for the flag to be flown beginning at sunrise Friday, June 19 until sunrise on Saturday, June 20.
Juneteenth remembers and celebrates the day that slavery ended in the United States on June 19, 1865, when the last people enslaved in the south in Galveston, Texas learned from Union soldiers that the Civil War had ended, and they were free.
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Today @LGMandelaBarnes and I announced the Juneteenth Flag will fly over the State Capitol building for the first time in Wisconsin state history.
Read the executive order here ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/BwerLx2Vxy
— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) June 17, 2020
“Juneteenth Day is an opportunity to recognize and reflect on the past,” the order read, “while acknowledging the work we have yet to do in keeping our country’s promise of justice, freedom and equity.”
The flag will replace the rainbow LGBTQ flag for one day. The flag is up all month in celebration of Pride Month. Evers ordered it to fly over the Capitol for the first time in Wisconsin history last year.
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