Many state landmarks illuminated in red, black and green for Juneteenth

Photo courtesy of Gov. Hochul’s Office: The Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge on the Hudson is among the many state landmarks illuminated in red, black and green for the Juneteenth holiday. Those are the colors of the Black Liberation Flag.

Press Release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office

ALBANY – Governor Kathy Hochul has issued a proclamation in observance of Juneteenth. The Governor also is having the red, black, and green Black Liberation Flag be raised over the New York State Capitol on June 19 and June 20. State landmarks also were be illuminated red, black, and green on Sunday.

“Arriving just over a month after the horrific, racist shootings in Buffalo, this year’s Juneteenth observance is an opportunity to reflect and heal as we commemorate the emancipation of enslaved Africans and their descendants in this country,” Governor Hochul said. “In recognition of the Black community’s persistent and intergenerational resistance to institutional oppression, I have directed the Black Liberation Flag to be flown over the state Capitol this year to signify New Yorkers’ solidarity in the struggle against the senseless violence and discrimination inflicted upon Black communities, families, and individuals.”

On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas at the conclusion of the Civil War to free the remaining enslaved African Americans, nearly two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. June 19 is often considered the official end of slavery in the United States and the nation’s second Independence Day. This year, June 19 falls on a Sunday, and Juneteenth will be observed as both a New York State and federal holiday on Monday, June 20.

The Black Liberation Flag was flown on Sunday and today on the observed holiday over the New York State Capitol and the following State buildings:

• Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building, Harlem
• Eleanor Roosevelt State Office Building, Poughkeepsie
• Hudson Valley Transportation Management Center, Hawthorne
• Perry B Duryea State Office Building, Hauppauge
• Empire State Plaza, Albany
• Alfred E Smith State Office Building, Albany
• Executive Mansion, Albany
• Harriman State Office Building Campus, Building 18, Albany
• Binghamton State Office Building
• Dulles State Office Building, Watertown
• Henderson-Smith State Office Building, Hornell
• Homer Folks Facility, Oneonta
• Senator John H. Hughes State Office Building, Syracuse
• Utica State Office Building
• New York State Preparedness Training Center, Oriskany

In addition, several state landmarks were illuminated red, black, and green on Sunday in celebration of Juneteenth:

• One World Trade Center
• Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge
• Kosciuszko Bridge
• The H. Carl McCall SUNY Building
• State Education Building
• Alfred E. Smith State Office Building
• Empire State Plaza
• State Fairgrounds – Main Gate & Expo Center
• Niagara Falls
• The “Franklin D. Roosevelt” Mid-Hudson Bridge
• Grand Central Terminal – Pershing Square Viaduct
• Albany International Airport Gateway
• Fairport Lift Bridge over the Erie Canal