Joy of Juneteenth lost here

Freedom didn’t reach Texas slaves until nearly two years after emancipation was declared for all blacks by order of President Abraham Lincoln in January of 1863. The day was June 19, 1865, “Juneteenth,” according to history’s records.

Locals that keep the holiday say our city remains behind the times in this important historical observance.

“You’re not going to find any big celebrations (for Juneteenth) down here,” teacher Sheralyn Woodley said. “It’s hard to bring anybody together and get them involved.”

According to Juneteenth.com, the national observance is the oldest celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

Woodley, who grew up just outside of Dallas in Wolfe City, has fond memories of her family and friends getting together for picnics on Juneteenth. It hasn’t been the same for her since moving to Brownsville to teach at the Livingway Christian School.

“You’re not going to find anything that’s African American-centric down here,” Woodley said.

Brownsville is home to a small but growing black community.

The 2000 census reported 575, just .4 percent of the city’s nearly 140,000 population is black. That’s up slightly from .1 percent in 1990.

“We need to get the city involved and have some kind of a celebration,” Woodley said.

The city hosted Juneteenth celebrations in the past, which have included activities at Dean Porter Park and other public spaces. The last recorded celebration was in 2003, according to Brownsville Herald archives.

A Cameron County proclamation, adopted last year along with the extra paid holiday for county workers, reads: “Each Emancipation Day, we pay tribute to freedom and renew our commitment to justice, which we acknowledge as a force that’s inevitable, but also indefinite, the attainment of which can only be secured through the efforts of people of good will … June 19 has meaning for all Texans.”

But there is no county celebration planned this year either.

“It’s one of those holidays that’s not off the wall, and I think a lot of people recognize it,” said Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos. “It’s an important day for us because of the emancipation of slaves and a lot of folks don’t give it the attention it deserves.”

Freedom comes to Texas

General Order No. 3

“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 rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer.”

Read by Major Gen. Gordon Granger at Galveston, June 19, 1865