If you want to learn about the history of anything, go straight to the source. For a look into the celebration and birthplace of Juneteenth, take a drive down to Galveston Island and immerse yourself in its rich history.
It was here that approximately 250,000 enslaved people learned of their freedom two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston on June 19, 1865, with 2,000 federal troops and General Order No. 3, which enforced the proclamation that President Abraham Lincoln had signed at the end of the Civil War in 1863.
It stated: “The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property, between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them, becomes that between employer and hired labor.”
Many of the area’s freedmen left rural plantations for urban areas like Houston, where in 1872, a group of Black American ministers helped raise money to purchase a 10-acre plot of land in Third Ward and named it Emancipation Park. The park has served as the site of Juneteenth celebrations and a cultural hub for the city’s African American community for more than 150 years.
Aside from Houston’s main Juneteenth festivities, Galveston has remained a center for the holiday with art, monuments, and cultural experiences to participate in year-round. Here are a few must-do activities.
Check out the Absolute Equality mural
2201 The Strand | Free
On Juneteenth in 2021, Houston-based artist Reginald C. Adams unveiled the Absolute Equality mural at the Old Galveston Square building. With the help of the Juneteenth Legacy Project, an organization that pushed for June 19 to be a national holiday, the 5,000-square-foot artwork depicts the story of the last Black Americans freed from slavery in the United States.
And Still We Rise… Juneteenth Exhibit at Ashton Villa
2328 Broadway | Adults, $10; Youth, 6–18 years old, $5; Ages 5 and under, free
In 2022, the African American Heritage Committee within the Galveston Historical Foundation added a small but powerful experience within the carriage house of the 1859 Ashton Villa mansion. And Still We Rise… is a permanent interactive exhibit that tells the story of Juneteenth and the journey toward “absolute equality,” two crucial words stated in General Order No. 3.
Through a series of interviews and historic documents, the three-room exhibit is filled with floor maps, digital touch-screens, photographs, videos, and profound quotes. When you first arrive, a statue called The Legislator honoring late State Rep. Al Edwards, who authored the bill that made Juneteenth a state holiday in Texas, stands guard by the garden path to the Ashton Villa.
Take the self-guided Freedom Walk
Multiple locations | Free
The self-guided Freedom Walk takes you to five historic sites that are important to Juneteenth. Start at Pier 21, the port where General Granger and his soldiers arrived. Here, the Middle Passage marker honors those who were enslaved as well as the millions of captive Africans who perished during the transatlantic slave trade.
From Pier 21, you can walk to the Absolute Equality mural, then make your way to the US Custom House, one of the sites where General Granger read the famous order in Galveston, and where a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation is displayed to this day.
Other stops on the Freedom Walk include Reedy Chapel-AME Church and the Ashton Villa, where the permanent Juneteenth exhibit lives. Don’t forget to download the app, take the challenge to visit all five historic sites, and after your walk, pick up a memento at the Visitor Information Center.
NIA Cultural Center & Art Gallery
2217 The Strand | Free
Inside the Juneteenth Legacy Project Headquarters, the NIA Cultural Center and Art Gallery features sculptures and paintings by local Black artists and offers a journey through African American history from the 1800s to present day. You can also learn about the educational organization NIA, a program that offers free youth mentoring, leadership development, life skills training, family advocacy resources, and parenting skill workshops.
African American Museum
3427 Sealy Ave. | Free
The African American Museum is a city staple that was cofounded by the late Clarence William Josey Jr., one of the first Black musicians from Galveston to appear on national television. The outside of the building alone is worth the trip as you can see portraits painted by E. Herron of trailblazers born on the island who have made significant contributions to the community. See faces like Dr. Beverly Lewis, the University of Texas Medical Branch’s first Black female surgeon, world heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, and civic leader and activist Norris Wright Cuney. Inside, there’s a collection of yearbooks from District 1, including a 1946 edition from the historic Central High School, the first secondary school for Black Americans in Texas, as well as a look into the historic churches that were some of the first Black churches in the state.
What’s happening this year
The family-friendly 2023 Juneteenth Festival will be held on Saturday, June 17, from 1–8 p.m. at the historical grounds of McGuire-Dent Recreation Center at Menard Park, at 2222 28th Street.