The City of Newburgh began the celebration of Black History Month with the raising of the Pan-African Flag on Wednesday, February 1. Members of the community and elected officials gathered at the intersection of Broadway and Colden Street to watch the raising of this symbol.

The Pan-African Flag is recognized by its colors of green, red and black and was created in 1920, attributed to activist Marcus Garvey. The red of the flag represents the blood shed by Black people over the course of history. The black represents all Black people, wherever they may be. And the green represents the land and the natural beauty of Africa.

Mayor Torrance Harvey welcomed community members by first sharing the importance of this month-long celebration and recognizing Councilman Omari Shakur for his role in initiating the flag being flown several years ago.

“This is a time where we get to explore our history, where we get to talk about where we need our future, and what needs to be done,” said Shakur. “And just pay homage to our history and see what mistakes were made and see where we can correct them now for the future.”

“February has been noted for such an auspicious occasion, celebrating and commemorating the history and the struggles and the freedom of African Americans and their accomplishments, transforming through all different disciplines and fields of accomplishments,” said Harvey.

Pastor RD McLymore led the group in a brief moment of prayer, followed by the recognition of Councilman Bob Sklarz, NAACP Newburgh Highland Falls Chapter President Ray Harvey and City Manager Todd Venning. Mayor Harvey also thanked the members of the Department of Public Works for being out with the crowd to assist in the flag raising ceremony. Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson, who had been in Albany for the day, arrived later on with Councilwoman Giselle Martinez to take part in the celebration.

In addition to the celebration of Black History, speakers also reflected on the recent death of Tyre Nichols of Memphis, Tennessee. Bodycam footage was released to the public by the Memphis Police Department who saw Nichols being pulled by officers on January 7 for a traffic stop. Nichols was beaten by five officers, all Black, after making an attempt to flee.

“It’s definitely a great honor to have the flag flown today, but with all the things going on, you know, in this country today, we, as you see, still have a lot of progress to make,” said Ray Harvey.”