Juneteenth was first celebrated in 1866, one year after Texas slaves had been officially freed. Freedmen and their families gathered in rural communities and burgeoning Freedom Colonies rejoicing with parades, dances, church services, hallelujah, community feasts, and tears. Some communities purchased land specifically to hold their celebrations, such as Houston’s Rev. Jack Yates who raised $1,000 for what would become Emancipation Park in Third Ward. A similar effort in Mexia yielded Booker T. Washington Park which one year saw 20,000 Juneteenth celebrants in one week. The celebrations have become worldwide and more diverse in attendees and program participants with some events offering job fairs, health checkups, and vendor booths. But the spirit of the day remains festive with an unspoken reverence.
Celebrants dressed to hear speeches during a 1900 Juneteenth celebration in Texas. (Photograph: Austin Public Library)
Musicians play at a Juneteenth celebration in Texas in 1900. (Public Domain)
Annual Juneteenth/KingFest Celebration Parade and Street Fair, 2019, Harlem, NY
Thomas White and other members of the organization that sought to purchase Emancipation Park in Houston. (CREDIT AUSTIN HISTORY CENTER, PICA 20862)
Two women sitting in a buggy decorated with flowers for 1908 Juneteenth Celebration in front of Antioch Baptist Church located in Houston’s Fourth Ward. (Credit…MSS0281-PH037, Houston Public Library, African-American Library at the Gregory School)
2018 parade in Flint, Mich. (Jake May/The Flint Journal)