By Jessica Ann Mitchell Aiwuyor
Executive Director, National Black Cultural Information Trust, Inc.
Juneteenth has been celebrated by African Americans in Galveston, Texas, since 1866 and became a federal holiday on June 17, 2021. Ever since Juneteenth became a federal holiday under President Joseph R. Biden, the nation has been engaged in ongoing discussion about how best to commemorate this Black Texan tradition of celebrating the freedom and liberation of formerly enslaved African Americans.
One popular discussion centers around the official Juneteenth flag, colors, and representation. The colors of Juneteenth, in particular, have become a point of contention and confusion for many. Some people view the colors of Juneteenth as solely red, white, and blue, derived from the American flag, and later, the Juneteenth flag was created by Black Bostonian Ben Haith (also known as Boston Ben) in 1997. Haith used these colors as a reminder and recognition that formerly enslaved African Americans are American. Other Juneteenth celebrants incorporate yellow along with red, black, and green in Juneteenth festivities derived from the Pan African Flag created by Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). The UNIA and red, black, and green were embraced widely by African American communities. Red is for the blood of Africans and African descendants. Green is for the land, notably representing the continent of Africa as the origin of our ancestors, and Black is for our race/skin. The UNIA had over 700 chapters in 38 states in America.
Additionally, red, black, and green, along with yellow, were used during the Black Power Movement in the 1960s and by the Republic of New Afrika (founded in 1968), a U.S.-based Black nationalist organization that advocated for African Americans to have their own sovereignty and nation in Southern states. Thus, the RBG colors have been cherished and utilized in African American freedom celebrations since the 1920s, over 70 years before the creation of the official Juneteenth flag, using the colors red, white, and blue.
The gaps in understanding this history have led to contention around the continued incorporation of red, black, and green in Juneteenth events. However, red, black, and green are historically relevant to Juneteenth and other Black liberation celebrations.
Due to chattel slavery and centuries of systemic racism experienced in America, there has been an ongoing internal conflict within the African American community on whether or not to embrace American symbolism. This criticism includes rejections of the American flag and its colors. In light of this, some organizers of Juneteenth events often included both the Pan-African flag and now the Juneteenth flag. Red, black, and green are also the colors of an African American flag created by the Republic of New Afrika. The Republic of New Afrika was a group of radical Black activists who argued for a Black nation located predominantly in the South, where most of Black America resides. Their colors are an inverted version of RBG, which is green, red, and black.
One key color that unites all traditions is red. Red is featured in the Juneteenth flag, the Black American Heritage flag, the Pan-African flag, and the Republic of New Afrika flag. For Juneteenth, red represents the blood of enslaved ancestors and the cost of freedom. This symbolism is embedded within Black southern food traditions. For example, Red foods and drinks are staples of Juneteenth celebrations.
Scholars trace this tradition to West African spiritual practices, where red symbolizes power and reverence. According to food historian Dr. Jessica B. Harris, Juneteenth’s red drinks have roots in West African traditions that were carried across the Atlantic. This historical continuity is significant and should remain centered in discussions concerning the origins of African American culture, symbolism, and representation.
So, what colors should we use in Juneteenth celebrations? Should they be red, white, and blue, or red, black, and green?
These questions are a lot more complex than they seem, but the short answer is all of them.
Both color combinations are utilized in Juneteenth Celebrations in Galveston, Texas, and nationwide. Even Opal Lee, known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth” for her consistent advocacy to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, wears both color combinations. In 2023, Lee was featured in JCPenny’s The Hope & Wonder Juneteenth Collection, wearing red, black, green, and yellow for the Juneteenth campaign.
The Association for the Study of African American Life and History, founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the creator of Negro History Week that later became Black History Month, chimed in on the issue on June 19, 2024. Explaining the historical use of both red, white, and blue and red, black, and green during Juneteenth, stating in a social media post on June 19, 2024 that:
“Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, tracing its origins to President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which initially freed enslaved people in Confederate states. However, it wasn’t until June 19, 1865, when Union Major General Gordon Granger announced in Galveston, Texas, that all enslaved people were free, marking the official end of slavery. This date became known as Juneteenth, and celebrations began the following year to honor this pivotal moment in American history and African American culture. Despite its profound significance, Juneteenth was only established as a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, under President Joe Biden’s Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, marking a historic recognition of freedom and African American heritage in the United States.
The Juneteenth flag, designed by Ben Haith in 1997 and revised by Lisa Jeanne Graf, features red, white, and blue to symbolize African Americans’ integral place in American history. At its center is a white star for Texas, where the last enslaved people were freed, representing freedom nationwide. The bursting star signifies a new beginning, while the arc represents new horizons and opportunities. This design captures the struggles and hopes of African Americans.
The colors red, yellow, green, and black, associated with Pan-Africanism, resonate with Juneteenth as symbols of unity and liberation for African people. Red signifies the sacrifices in the struggle for freedom, yellow represents hope and prosperity, green symbolizes growth and renewal, and black honors African heritage and identity. These colors underscore Juneteenth’s celebration of emancipation and resilience, highlighting its significance in African American history and the ongoing pursuit of equality and justice.” (Source: Association for the Study of African American Life and History ( ASALH) https://x.com/ASALH/status/1803464907368620227/photo/1)
Laquan Austion, founder and CEO of
The Juneteenth Foundation. stated in an interview with
Black Enterprise that,” There are two flags which most folks know: red, white and blue, designed to take after the traditional American flag,” and “the traditional Pan-African flag, which is red, black, and green. The community wanted to make sure we were tapping into our African ancestral roots and the importance of red, representing blood; black, representing soil; and green, representing prosperity of our native roots in Africa.”
Austion also stated, “I encourage folks to use both flags. They both have significant prominence in communities,” he said. “The Pan-African flag obviously has a lot of historical roots to Africa, and the red, white, and blue flag that takes after the American flag is also really significant as well, because folks were brought here and freed here in our nation to pursue their American dream.”
In an interview with Saleen Martin of USA Today, Tim Goler, an assistant professor of sociology and urban affairs at Norfolk State University and research director at the Center for African American Public Policy, chimed in on the topic. In the article titled, “What does the Juneteenth flag look like? Can it be celebrated with July 4th? It’s complicated,” Dr. Goler goes into detail about why he and other Black Americans feel that the Black Liberation flag is more appropriate for Juneteenth than the official Juneteenth flag that features Red, White, and Blue. Stating that the American flag and its colors were “weaponized” against Black Americans, while the Red, Black, and Green flag represents Black freedom.
According to USA Today: Goler said that while he thanks Haith for creating the red, white and blue Juneteenth flag, even Haith himself said the purpose of choosing the colors was because he wanted it to serve as a reminder that Black Americans who descended from slavery are Americans.
But to some Black people, the American flag does not represent freedom, equality and liberty, Goler said.
Just look at the failures of Reconstruction, Jim Crow laws, voting rights, mass shootings, as well as “the continued inequities and discriminations against Black people that we deal with on a daily basis,” he told USA TODAY.
He also said the U.S. flag has been deliberately weaponized and redefined as a conservative symbol, “owned by some Americans and not others.”
“You can see why cities would (use the 1997 flag),” Goler said. “Some cities will use the red, white and blue colors because they have a constituency larger than just African Americans they’re trying to appease. A lot of times, (using red, black and green) might cause problems, but if you look at most community-based organizations, pretty much every single Black organization, they all use red, black and green.”
Goler also said celebrating July 4 and Juneteenth together is “unwise,” “disrespectful” and an “oxymoron” because July 4th commemorates the Declaration of Independence being signed in 1776.
“Black people were still slaves in 1776,” he said. “You’ve just got to do your research, look out in the world and see what we really use. The Pan-African Flag really is the most appropriate flag for Juneteenth. It’s the Black Liberation flag and it was designed to represent people of the African diaspora. That’s why we call ourselves African American. We acknowledge the diaspora in our identity. That flag also symbolizes Black freedom.” (Source https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/06/18/controversial-discussions-surround-juneteenth-and-joint-celebrations/7646067001/)
This belief is consistent with the historical sentiment of key Black liberation figures like Malcolm X, pointing out the internal conflicts with America, consistently denying African Americans the rights of citizenship. Stating in his 1964 speech,
The Ballot or the Bullet:“Being here in America doesn’t make you an American. Being born here in America doesn’t make you an American. Why, if birth made you American, you wouldn’t need any legislation; you wouldn’t need any amendments to the Constitution; you wouldn’t be faced with civil-rights filibustering in Washington, D.C., right now…
No, I’m not an American. I’m one of the 22 million black people who are the victims of Americanism. One of the 22 million black people who are the victims of democracy, nothing but disguised hypocrisy. So, I’m not standing here speaking to you as an American, or a patriot, or a flag-saluter, or a flag-waver — no, not I. I’m speaking as a victim of this American system. And I see America through the eyes of the victim. I don’t see any American dream; I see an American nightmare.”
“We, the [New Afrikan] people in America, in consequence of arriving at a knowledge of Ourselves as a people with dignity, long deprived of that knowledge; as a consequence of revolting with every decimal of Our collective and individual beings against the oppression that for 300 years has destroyed and broken and warped the bodies and minds and spirits of Our people in America, in consequence of Our raging desire to be free of this oppression, to destroy this oppression wherever it assaults mankind in the world, and in consequence of Our indistinguishable determination to go a different way, to build a new and better world, do hereby declare Ourselves forever free and independent of the jurisdiction of the United States of America and the obligations which that country’s unilateral decision to make Our ancestors and Ourselves paper-citizens placed on Us.”
Queen Mother Audley Moore, mother of the modern Reparations Movement, was also a member of the Republic of New Afrika and included this ideology in her creation of The Reparations Committee for the Descendants of American Slaves and her pamphlet, Why reparations? “reparations is the battle cry for the economic and social freedom of more than 25 million descendants of American slaves, where she stated:
“…the people of African origin enclosed within the boundaries of the United States of America do declare that:
We do not now nor have we ever had equal protection under the laws of this country which by customs are not enforced, when we are involved.
We have, since 1863 been the victims of mob violence, lynching and systematized atrocities, to a far greater extent than any other citizens, or residents of this country.
We charge that: our language, culture and heritage were methodically and deliberately destroyed.
Our names and geographical identity were systematically obliterated.
We are denied the legal right to shelter by discrimination, custom, segregation, and subtle defacto segregation.
The Reparations Committee, is seeking relief in money damages for the victims of these injustices with which to begin a program of rehabilitation. It is, further, the desire of the Committee that every well-meaning and patriotic American, whatever his position in life, do his utmost by word as well as deed, to help this long overdue and just effort to erase the blot and stigma from the unfortunate past of America’s history, by public and official expiration for the wrongs heaped in multiplicity upon a large mass of American Citizens who have contributed so richly to America’s culture, welfare and safety.”
Additionally, there is a third discussion about whether both flags fall short in commemorating Juneteenth for Black America. In his commentary for The Triibe, Matt Harvey expressed disappointment at not having a Juneteenth Flag specifically for Black Americans. Noting that the Red, Black, and Green flag, though focused on liberation, is too expansive, including the wider Diaspora, and the official Juneteenth Flag is too expansive in including representation for all of America.
Harvey states, “For the many of us who hadn’t been introduced to the Juneteenth flag until recently, the Pan-African flag — created in 1920 by Marcus Garvey — has long been synonymous with celebrations of Blackness including Juneteenth. But the Pan-African flag falls short of qualifying as a uniquely Black American symbol because it represents all people of the African diaspora, whereas the Juneteenth flag specifically represents the American descendants of slavery.
But after interviewing Williams and Collins, two of the country’s most dedicated Juneteenthers, I don’t think the Juneteenth flag is the answer either. Both of them specified that Juneteenth isn’t a Black American holiday, but an American holiday, and that the flag isn’t a Black American flag, but an American flag. They said Juneteenth is for all Americans.” (Source: https://thetriibe.com/2021/06/commentary-the-juneteenth-flag-isnt-the-best-symbol-for-black-americans/)
To meet this need, several Black social media users have begun fusing elements of the Juneteenth Flag with the RBG flag to celebrate the unique and unifying aspects of Juneteenth.
However, regardless of preference, the Black historical record in America shows that both Red, White, Blue or Red, Black and Green are all accurate, appropriate, and representative of Juneteenth’s spirit of freedom and liberation for African Americans. The continued convergence of colors represents the complex, intricate, and interwoven nature of African American culture and history in America.
– This article was updated on May 8, 2026 to include additional information and context.
