The City of Dover will hold a Juneteenth proclamation and flag-raising ceremony on the lawn in front of City Hall at 3:30 pm on Wednesday, June 18.
Mayor Dennis Shanahan will read the proclamation during the ceremony, which will recognize Juneteenth as the annual holiday marking the end of slavery in the United States. The proclamation also highlights Dover’s important role in the anti-slavery movement dating back to the 1830s.
Juneteenth is both a celebration of freedom and a reminder of the pain caused by racial violence, abuse of power, and injustice throughout American history. The proclamation notes that while progress has been made since slavery and segregation, the work of achieving full equality and justice continues.
Following the proclamation, Mayor Shanahan will join City Council members, elected officials, and community members in raising the Juneteenth flag over City Hall. The flag will remain on display through June 19.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed enslaved African Americans of the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of the Civil War, more than two years after the proclamation had been issued.
As the oldest nationally recognized celebration marking the end of slavery in the United States, Juneteenth is observed in New Hampshire by a governor’s proclamation under RSA 4:13-aa, enacted in 2019, though it is not yet a state holiday.