JUNETEENTH. On June 19 ("Juneteenth"), 1865, Union general Gordon Granger read the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston, thus belatedly bringing about the freeing of 250,000 slaves in Texas. The tidings of freedom reached slaves gradually as individual plantation owners read the proclamation to their bondsmen over the months following the end of the war. The news elicited an array of personal celebrations, some of which have been described in The Slave Narratives of Texas (1974). The first broader celebrations of Juneteenth were used as political rallies and to teach freed African American about their voting rights. Within a short time, however, Juneteenth was marked by festivities throughout the state, some of which were organized by official Juneteenth committees.
For several years I observed Juneteenth with a good friend named Charles. We'd drive to East Texas near Tennessee Colony for a huge Juneteenth picnic that lasted all day and way into the night, spend the night with one of Charles' sisters, then limp home the next day worn out but satisfied.
A good time was had by all
