Members of the North Las Vegas Fire Department Honor Guard, from left, Ryan Thatcher, Cameron Hughes and Ryan Aughenbaugh prepare to raise the Juneteenth flag in North Las Vegas on Thursday, June 3, 2021. On Wednesday the North Las Vegas City Council unanimously approved a resolution officially commemorating Juneteenth as an annual celebration. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
Members of the North Las Vegas Fire Department Honor Guard, from left, Ryan Thatcher, Cameron Hughes and Ryan Aughenbaugh raise the Juneteenth flag in North Las Vegas on Thursday, June 3, 2021. On Wednesday the North Las Vegas City Council unanimously approved a resolution officially commemorating Juneteenth as an annual celebration. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
People watch as the Juneteenth flag is raised in North Las Vegas on Thursday, June 3, 2021. On Wednesday the North Las Vegas City Council unanimously approved a resolution officially commemorating Juneteenth as an annual celebration. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
Cameron Hughes, of the North Las Vegas Fire Department Honor Guard, holds the Juneteenth flag before it is raised in North Las Vegas on Thursday, June 3, 2021. On Wednesday the North Las Vegas City Council unanimously approved a resolution officially commemorating Juneteenth as an annual celebration. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
Christian Shelton sings the national anthem during a flag-raising ceremony ahead of Juneteenth, the annual celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, in North Las Vegas on Thursday, June 3, 2021. On Wednesday the North Las Vegas City Council unanimously approved a resolution officially commemorating Juneteenth as an annual celebration. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
Deborah Evans, president of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation Nevada, speaks during a flag-raising ceremony ahead of Juneteenth, the annual celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, in North Las Vegas on Thursday, June 3, 2021. On Wednesday the North Las Vegas City Council unanimously approved a resolution officially commemorating Juneteenth as an annual celebration. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
Members of the North Las Vegas Fire Department Honor Guard raise the Juneteenth flag as Edina Flaathen sings "Lift Every Voice and Sing,Ó also known as the Black national anthem, in North Las Vegas on Thursday, June 3, 2021. On Wednesday the North Las Vegas City Council unanimously approved a resolution officially commemorating Juneteenth as an annual celebration. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
North Las Vegas City Councilwoman Pamela Goynes-Brown speaks during a flag-raising ceremony ahead of Juneteenth, the annual celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, in North Las Vegas on Thursday, June 3, 2021. On Wednesday the North Las Vegas City Council unanimously approved a resolution officially commemorating Juneteenth as an annual celebration. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
North Las Vegas Councilman Isaac Barron, left,t alks with former Nevada Assemblyman Harvey Munford after a flag-raising ceremony ahead of Juneteenth, the annual celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, in North Las Vegas on Thursday, June 3, 2021. On Wednesday the North Las Vegas City Council unanimously approved a resolution officially commemorating Juneteenth as an annual celebration. Munford was the primary sponsor of a 2011 bill that led to Nevada officially observing Juneteenth. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
Elder Jurea Williams, of Sunrise Mountain Ministries, leads prayer during a flag-raising ceremony ahead of Juneteenth, the annual celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, in North Las Vegas on Thursday, June 3, 2021. On Wednesday the North Las Vegas City Council unanimously approved a resolution officially commemorating Juneteenth as an annual celebration. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
A flag raising ceremony Thursday outside North Las Vegas City Hall commemorated the end of slavery in the United States.
The ceremony came a day after the North Las Vegas City Council adopted a resolution to recognize Juneteenth as an annual celebration of the freedom of Black people from slavery.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when slaves in Galveston, Texas, were notified of their freedom by Union soldiers. Texas had defied the end of enslavement ordered by the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years earlier.
The day is formally recognized in 49 states — including Nevada — and the District of Columbia. There is an ongoing effort to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.
