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The home of Juneteenth: Texas town that's behind the holiday where America's last slaves were emancipated
Nationally, Americans are celebrating Juneteenth for the fourth year in a row, but in Galveston, Texas, families have been marking the date in a celebratory fashion for generations.
The date, which became a federal holiday in 2021, commemorates the official end of slavery in Galveston in 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation order the freeing of black people still held by members of the Confederacy.
Members of the Texas city's black community say the holiday has always been recognized and celebrated by black people in the area - in parks and backyards, where families and friends gathered to barbecue and tell stories.
Roy Collins, 67, of Galveston, told NPR that he has 'newspaper records of my great-grandfather - who was by this time, in 1885, he would have been 25 years old - and he was given the role of reading the Emancipation Proclamation at that celebration.'
Members of the City of Galveston government unveil new signage that will be installed on the highway entering the Island to recognize its place as the birthplace of Juneteenth
An Emancipation Day celebration held on June 19, 1900 in Austin, Texas. Texas remained under Confederate rule even after the Emancipation Proclamation took effect in 1863
Each year, the city hosts a reading of General Order No. 3, which enforced the freeing of those who were still enslaved.
Usually, the reading is accompanied by a march that recreates some of the early celebrations of freedom. Gala events and dinners are also held around town.
Juneteenth is also a holiday that is meant to support and honor black businesses.
Candace Reese's family history in Galveston dates back to a time when her ancestors were slaves on Michel Menard's property - Menard founded Galveston.
She says: 'Juneteenth is about economic empowerment for those who are the descendants of those who were enslaved because there's so much ground still that each generation has to make up.'
Torin Collins told the outlet that she also grew up celebrated the now-national holiday.
Her family in Texas own a former Confederate plantation. Every year, she said, her father hosts a giant Juneteenth celebration to gather and teach the community about its history.
'I was raised with the awareness of, like, how important Juneteenth is and how much we need to remember history, and where we started, and kind of that dark chapter that everyone tries to sweep under the rug,' she said.
On January 1 of 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, declaring that all people in the United States would be free.
African Americans gathered in churches and private homes across the country waiting for the words of the law to finally spread throughout the land.
People gather to celebrate the opening of the mural as a part of Juneteenth Legacy Project commemorating the end of slavery in the United States on June 19 in Galveston, Texas
On the 19th of June, 1865, Union troops landed on Galveston Bay to deliver freedom to the 250,000 black Americans in Texas
Group portrait of three young African American boys at the Emancipation Day Celebration, June 19, 1900
Eight men in suits with ceremonial swords on their hips, June 19, 1900. These were the 'officers of the day' at the Emancipation Day Juneteenth celebration, which is still recreated in some capacity in select parts of Texas
Juneteenth Historical Marker is unveiled after the dedication ceremony hosted by Galveston Historical Foundation and Texas Historical Commission on Juneteenth one decade ago
At midnight, black soldiers marched onto plantations across the south with small copies of the Emancipation Proclamation, spreading the news of freedom everywhere.
But, the proclamation did not apply to everyone in the United States. It could not be implemented in areas still under Confederate control.
And so, in Texas - the westernmost tip of the Confederacy - slaves would remain slaves for two-and-a-half more years.
On June 19, 1865, Union troops made it to Galveston Bay, where they announced that the more than quarter-million enslaved black people in Texas were free by executive decree.