760 Jim Wright Freeway
Fort Worth, TX 76108
USA
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. One of General Granger’s first orders of business was to read to the people of Texas, General Order Number 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.”
The celebration of June 19th was coined “Juneteenth” and continues to be highly revered in Texas. Lecture with informal discussion will be conducted by Rodney Willis, retired U.S. History Teacher, Evanston, Ill School District 65. June 19 & 20 at 2:00 pm in the museum’s theater.
