A New York city marked Somalia’s Independence Day by flying the country’s flag outside City Hall, shortly after its liberal mayor called off the planned July 4 fireworks display.
In Buffalo, the blue-and-white Somali flag was raised above City Hall for the day as members of the local Somali community gathered to celebrate the occasion.
Images shared by the Somali National News Agency showed a man who appeared to be a City Hall worker hoisting the flag while residents dressed in blue looked on.
Mayor Sean Ryan did not appear to attend the ceremony, even though the flag-raising took place just steps from his office.
Local residents said the Somali flag was later removed.
The flag-raising came one day after Ryan said Buffalo would not hold a fireworks show for the celebration of America’s 250th birthday.
Ryan had said about a month earlier that the fireworks event would proceed, but reversed course on Tuesday and announced it had been canceled.
The following day, he explained that his office had been unable to secure an “appropriate site” that could offer residents a safe viewing area with broad public access.
A Somali flag was raised outside of Buffalo’s city hall on Wednesday to celebrate the country’s Independence Day
Somali residents dressed in blue and white to commemorate the celebration
The liberal leader also reiterated to residents that Buffalo hasn’t hosted July 4 fireworks in at least a ‘generation.’
It does, however, host New Year’s Eve fireworks, and other firework shows have taken place in Niagara Square, Delaware Park, Lasalle Park, and other places, according to WGRZ.
Local philanthropist Russ Salvatore had agreed to pay for the July 4 fireworks show, Ryan told WGRZ, but Salvatore had concerns about launching the pyrotechnics near city hall, where the show was supposed to be.
‘I didn’t want to do them on the barge in the river because we’re already doing them August 2 on the barge in the river,’ Ryan said.
The mayor went on to say he wanted to get people downtown.
Nearby Rochester also celebrated Somali Independence with a parade on Wednesday evening, WHEC reported.
Similarly to Buffalo, residents dressed in the flag’s blue and white colors.
Local, Halima Abukar, said it was the first time the Western New York city had celebrated it since she was born.
It does not appear that Mayor Sean Ryan was in attendance. The event came after he canceled the Fourth of July fireworks due to not having a suitable spot for them
‘I’m really excited and proud to have this parade today in honor of Somali Independence Day,’ she told WHEC.
‘I was born and raised in Rochester, and I’ve never seen Somali people be honored and respected like this in this way, so I’m really excited to be here and proud to be Somali.’
Many cities – like Columbus, Ohio – canceled their Somali celebrations after receiving harsh backlash.
On Wednesday, the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department referenced celebrating the ‘unification of the Trust Territory of Somaliland and the State of Somaliland into the Somali Republic in 1960.’
The post finished off with an announcement that ‘City Hall will be raising the flag of Somalia.’
Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno, a Republican, pushed back on the post announcing the supposed flag raising ceremony.
‘There is only one nation’s flag that should ever be flown on American government buildings or property,’ Moreno wrote on X.
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‘This action by Columbus is a total disgrace and takes away from the epic celebration on Saturday of this country’s 250-year celebration.’
Join the discussion
Was Buffalo was right to cancel its July 4 fireworks, or was it the wrong decision for America’s 250th anniversary?
Columbus retracted a post that said it would be raising the flag above its city hall
The now-deleted post said Columbus would celebrate the holiday
The post, which was also made on Facebook, has since been deleted after sparking wide backlash from conservative figures.
A spokesperson for Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, Jennifer Fening, said the social media post ‘created by a city department falsely stated that City Hall would raise the Somalian flag in recognition of Somali Independence Day.’
‘While the City recognizes and respects the aspirations of people around the world to live in freedom, this post was inaccurate and has been deleted,’ the mayor’s spokesperson told The Columbus Dispatch.
However, it was still not entirely clear why the post was made in the first place.
The celebrations of Somali Independence Day come as President Donald Trump had a meltdown over the lackluster July 4 celebrations for America’s 250th birthday.
Trump was said to have been so enraged by the small turnout at his rally kicking off July 4 celebrations in Washington, DC, that he ordered White House officials to delete images of the sparse crowd.
The President gave a 30-minute speech last week at the Great American State Fair, boasting about his administration’s accomplishments heading into the nation’s 250th birthday.
The celebrations of Somali Independence Day come as President Donald Trump had a meltdown over the lackluster July 4 celebrations
Great American State Fair, where the president spoke, have a low turn out
Trump was reportedly ‘livid’ after seeing aerial photos of the crowd
Images from Trump’s talk showed a sparsely attended event, while footage captured attendees leaving in the middle of it.
Trump was ‘livid’ after viewing aerial photos of the crowd. He was reportedly not aware of the low attendance while on stage.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.
