3 through prayer, reflections, and community leadership. The event commemorates the reading of General Order No. In 1979, the Galveston Juneteenth Committee under the leadership of former city manager Doug Matthews and Texas Representative Al Edwards initiated an annual Galveston Juneteenth Celebration on the lawn of Ashton Villa at 2328 Broadway. states and the District of Columbia have recognized Juneteenth as either a state holiday or ceremonial holiday, a day of observance. After Texas recognized the date, many states followed suit. The law passed through the Texas Legislature in 1979 and was officially made a state holiday on January 1, 1980.

Texas was the first state to establish Juneteenth as a state holiday under legislation introduced by freshman Democratic state representative Al Edwards (Houston). In the late 1970s, the Texas Legislature declared Juneteenth a “holiday of significance particularly to the blacks of Texas.” Major General Gordon Granger. Since then, the annual commemoration has grown from local roots to a national celebration featuring parades, readings, processions, and more. It was from that moment that Juneteenth would be born. The order informed all Texans that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves were free. 3 at numerous locations, including their headquarters at the Osterman Building, 1861 Custom House, courthouse, and the then Negro Church (today’s Reedy Chapel-AME Church) on Broadway. Granger’s men marched through Galveston reading General Order No. Two and a half years later, in June of 1865, more than 2,000 Federal soldiers of the 13th Army Corps arrived in Galveston, with them Major General Gordon Granger, Commanding Officer, District of Texas.

Photo courtesy Galveston Historical Foundation 1863, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thenceforward and forever free…” However, Lincoln’s proclamation would have little impact on Texans at that time due to the small number of Union troops available to enforce it. Issued under powers granted to the president “as a fit and necessary war measure”, the proclamation declared, “That on the 1st day of January, A.D. President Abraham Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. 3, read on Jannouncing that all slaves were free, is one of our region’s most important historical moments. “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.” – General Orders, No.

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