The city will host a flag-raising ceremony tomorrow morning to honor the Juneteenth flag as it is raised at City Hall for the first time.

The ceremony begins at 9 a.m. Friday, June 19, in front of City Hall to commemorate Juneteenth Week in Federal Way.

“I want to thank those who asked me to display the flag, including the Rogers family (Keith, Trenise, and Anisah) in recognition of the oldest known celebration commemorating the abolition of slavery in the United States,” said Mayor Jim Ferrell.

For the first time in Federal Way’s history, the mayor and Federal Way City Council issued a Juneteenth Week proclamation at Tuesday night’s council meeting.

The proclamation, in part, declares June 15-21 as Juneteenth Week in the City of Federal Way to celebrate the rich culture and heritage African Americans have brought, and continue to bring, to the local community.

It also recognizes Juneteenth as the oldest known celebration commemorating the abolition of slavery in the United States, it says.

President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Sept. 22, 1862, which established all enslaved people “shall be then, thenceforward and forever free.”

On June 19, 1865, nearly two-and-a-half years after the president’s order, the remaining enslaved people in South and Southwestern United States were freed.

“Juneteenth” is a combination of the words “June” and “Nineteenth” as the date June 19 is a meaning of freedom and liberation from slavery to Black Americans, the proclamation states.