From Galveston to Houston, the legacy of Juneteenth is alive, not just in celebrations, but in the bricks, streets, and stories passed down through generations.
KPRC 2’s Sofia Ojeda traveled to the birthplace of Juneteenth in Galveston to share the history and importance this holiday has to offer.
The City of Galveston will have blocked off areas and roads ahead of the parade and celebrations that begin at 10 a.m.
President Joe Biden is set to take part in the festivities on the island.
READ MORE: Former President Joe Biden to attend Juneteenth celebration in Galveston
Biden was behind the recognized day becoming a federal holiday.
And in Freedmen’s Town outside Downtown Houston, the Juneteenth 160 Fest will be held.
The historic town was founded 160 years ago after news finally reached Galveston of the Emancipation Proclamation.
It would be June 19, 1865, that the first freed slaves left Galveston and moved to Houston.
There, they built their thriving community, with homes, schools, and beautiful red brick roads throughout.
“Freedmen’s Town is the oldest black settlement post-civil war or the second coming of emancipation, as I like to call it, because you know the folks here in Texas, they didn’t get word things didn’t happen as quickly as they should have. So, June 19th , 1865, you have General Order 3 that’s read in Galveston and then you have a migration of folks that come and settle here on the south banks of Buffalo Bayou and begin to erect this community," says Sharon Fletcher with the Freedmen’s Town Conservancy.
Most recently, because of roads being replaced, city of Houston crews accidentally dug up 11 of the more than 100-year-old bricks.
But a community member saw them and told them to stop.
Those bricks will be restored and replaced. A process so important to the Freedmen’s Town Conservancy.
They want the entire community to come learn about Houston’s history.
“We have about 20,000 plus bricks over there that have been cleaned, identified, catalogued, and palletized and ready to come back into the community, so we added those to the collection of those bricks. We are currently working on the rebirth and action project, which will allow us to fully restore the brick streets here on Andrew Street and Wilson Street,” said Fletcher.
The entire goal is to pass down the stories and legacy of Freedmen’s Town and of those who came before us.
Fletcher says, it’s not just Black history, it’s American history.
The Juneteenth 160 Fest begins at 1 p.m. in Freedmen’s Town outside of the Conservancy and the Gregory School at 1204 Victor Street in Fourth Ward.
There will be live music, yoga, art exhibits, wealth workshop, and talent show, to name a few.
WEATHER: Juneteenth Forecast in Houston: Scattered storms, steamy temps expected
