THE THIRD ANNUAL Juneteenth Flag Raising Ceremony featured 100 attendees on June 12. Lynnfield for Love and the North Shore Juneteenth Association co-hosted the third annual ceremony. (Dan Tomasello Photo)
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — One hundred residents came together to commemorate Juneteenth during a ceremony on the Town Common on June 12.
Lynnfield for Love and the North Shore Juneteenth Association co-hosted the third annual Flag-Raising Ceremony.
“On behalf of Lynnfield for Love, we are touched you are all here,” said Lynnfield for Love President Darlene Kumar. “We are a volunteer-led community group that started in the fall of 2016. Next year will be our 10th year anniversary. Our mission is to create a more connected community by focusing on diversity, equity, social justice and service.”
After students Millie Gallagher and Samara Weisenfeld read Lynnfield for Love’s land acknowledgment, Select Board Vice Chair Alexis Leahy read the Juneteenth proclamation on behalf of the Select Board.
“Our country is made up of people from every nation on earth, who are declared equal not only in freedom but also in justice, both of which are essential for a healthy human civilization,” said Leahy while reading the proclamation. “Our nation was conceived on July 4, 1776 with the Declaration of Independence, stating that ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’”
Leahy recalled while reading the Juneteenth proclamation that President Abraham Lincoln “signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, declaring the slaves in Confederate territory free.” She said the Emancipation Proclamation paved the way for the 13th Amendment’s passage, which she recalled “formally abolished slavery in the United States of America.”
“Word about the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation was delayed some two-and-a-half years to June 19, 1865 in reaching authorities and African Americans in the South and Southwestern United States,” said Leahy. “On June 15, 2021, the United States Senate unanimously passed the Juneteenth National Holiday Independence Act, establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday. It subsequently passed through the House of Representatives by a vote of 415-14 on June 16, 2021.”
Leahy recalled that June 19 has “a special meaning to African Americans” and Juneteenth “has been celebrated by the African American community for over 150 years.”
“We, the Select Board, do hereby proclaim June 19, 2025 as Juneteenth in Lynnfield and urge all citizens to become more aware of the significance of this celebration in African American history and in the heritage of our nation,” said Leahy while reading the proclamation.
Leahy also read a speech she wrote for the Juneteenth Flag-Raising Ceremony.
“We gather to honor Juneteenth — a day of liberation, resilience and reflection,” said Leahy. “It marks the moment in 1865 when freedom finally reached enslaved people in Galveston, Texas — two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation. It’s a reminder that justice delayed is not justice denied, but it is still a delay we must learn from. Juneteenth is not only a historical moment — it is a living call to action. It reminds us that freedom, equality and dignity are not just promises made — they must be promises kept. And that work is far from over. Our town has felt the pain of racism — whether overt or quiet, whether in the streets, in our schools or in our systems. Let me say this clearly: Hate has no home here. It has no place in our policies, in our public discourse or in our hearts.”
Leahy said the community and the country “cannot celebrate freedom without confronting injustice.”
“So today, let’s commit — not only to celebrate — but to act: To listen more closely, to teach truthfully, to govern fairly and to ensure that liberty and justice are not only ideals we recite, but realities we live,” said Leahy. “This is a call to take meaningful action and be true allies. This day belongs to every person who has fought — and continues to fight — for the promise of this country to include us all. May we move forward together with courage, with unity and with purpose.”
Lynnfield High School junior/Lynnfield for Love member Sonia Kumar said, “Educating our community about the importance and beauty of diversity, equity and inclusion has always been a key part of our mission.”
“It is especially important now,” said Sonia. “I would also like to take a moment to thank you all for coming out today and supporting this event. Witnessing such enthusiasm in my own community about celebrating Black excellence and a holiday as powerful as Juneteenth is a reminder of the strength we have when we come together.”
Sonia also recognized “the grandmother of Juneteenth,” Opal Lee. She said Lee “spent decades raising awareness and campaigning for Juneteenth to become a federal holiday.”
“Every year, she would walk two-and-a-half miles to represent the amount of time, two-and-a-half years, it took for news of the Emancipation Proclamation to reach Texas, where people were still living under slavery,” said Sonia. “Her dedication is truly inspirational. In our ever-growing and wonderfully diverse community, I would like to remind you all that there is always space for everyone’s voice to be heard.”
Assistant Superintendent Adam Federico thanked Lynnfield for Love and the North Shore Juneteenth Association for hosting the third annual Flag-Raising Ceremony.
“For me, this event is important because it brings our community together at a common event, an event that is significant because it reinforces the notions of beginnings and endings,” said Federico. “It reminds us that just because words are proclaimed, we cannot stop with our actions. Being here is an action: A step. Let’s keep moving forward in action.”
North Shore Juneteenth Association President Nicole McClain, who is a Lynn City Councilor, noted that the Juneteenth Flag-Raising Ceremony occurred less than a week after the Lynnfield High School graduation livestreaming incident.
“Let’s be diligent about how we address the other cultures in this community,” said McClain. “We shouldn’t be waiting for tragedy or for discrimination to show up in order for us to show up.”
If residents witness racism firsthand, McClain encouraged the ceremony’s attendees to “say something about it or even walk away in distain.”
“Let these people know it is not welcome in your community,” said McClain.
McClain said Juneteenth commemorates “the freedom of Black Americans.”
“It is a day that not only represents the end of slavery, but the enduring resilience, faith and fortitude of Black Americans,” said McClain. “Juneteenth is a declaration of freedom, but also a confrontation with the truth. It reminds us of the long delays in justice, the resistance to equity and the unfinished work that still lies ahead. This is Black history, but it is also American history. It happened right here in America. Slavery, Jim Crow and all of that happened not just down south, but right here in the Boston area and in New England. All of those things occurred, so I encourage you again to educate yourselves. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that freedom is celebrated on Juneteenth. It is not just symbolic of freedom, but it should be real, meaningful and accessible for all.”
McClain said the Union Army, including Black soldiers, arrived in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865 to spread the news that “the Civil War had ended and the enslaved were finally free.” She recalled that U.S. Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3, which was read aloud in Galveston.
“All slaves are free,” said McClain while reading General Order No. 3. “This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves.”
While McClain said the words included in General Order No. 3 “sound promising,” she recalled that the rest of the order included restrictions placed on Black Americans.
“Even in Emancipation, Black freedom was shaped but limited by white power,” said McClain. “The order warned free people not to gather, not to leave and remain working where they were, effectively telling them you are free, but stay where you can be controlled. This contradiction, freedom declared but not fully granted, is why Juneteenth remains a celebration of both action and freedom.”
McClain recalled that Opal Lee walked from Texas to Washington, D.C. in September 2016 at the age of 89 because she was “determined to have Juneteenth recognized as a federal holiday.”
“Thanks to her persistence and the generations before and after her, Juneteenth was finally made a federal holiday in 2021, which is truly unacceptable,” said McClain. “Black Americans have been celebrating Juneteenth for eons, and other cultures have been celebrating their freedom on American soil before Black Americans had a holiday to celebrate their freedom.”
The ceremony’s attendees gave all of the speakers a round of applause.
After Kingsley Metelus read a poem he had written, the ceremony concluded with Lynn English students/Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) members Adriana Perez and Marley Perez raising the Juneteenth flag while Janey David sang the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by James Wheldon.
“When we fly this flag, we honor both the pain of the past and the possibility of a better future,” said McClain.
While Lynnfield for Love has traditionally had to raise $450 in order to hold the ceremony, President Darlene Kumar said the Weiss family funded the cost of this year’s ceremony.