C2 | THE DAILY NEWS | Thursday, February 8, 2024 GALVESTON COUNTY, TEXAS C elebrating 181 Y ears F ebruary traditionally is celebrated as Black History Month, but it was not always on our national calen- dar. Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the Father of Black History, started Black History Week in 1926. It later was expanded to a month in 1976 by President Gerald Ford. Woodson selected the second week in February to honor the tradition of the Black community, recognizing the birthdays of Presi- dent Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. February was not se- lected because it is the shortest Month or one of the coldest. Black History Week and Month were created to highlight the contributions of Black people to world history. Over the next four weeks, we will highlight stories that profile African Americans who you may or may not have heard of. Week one will highlight how many Africans and African Amer- icans arrived in Galveston and Texas. It also will highlight Galveston as the birthplace of freedom. That birth of freedom was preceded by labor pains of exploitation. These articles are not printed to make anyone feel guilty about the past or to remain stuck in the past. We study history to learn from the past, to be inspired by the past and not to repeat the mistakes of the past. One of my favorite quotes about guilt is by James Baldwin: “I’m not interested in anybody’s guilt. Guilt is a luxury that we can no longer afford. I know you didn’t do it, and I didn’t do it either, but I am responsible for it because I am a man and a citizen of this country, and you are responsible for it too, for the very same reason… Anyone who is trying to be conscious must begin to dismiss the vocabulary which we’ve used so long to cover it up, to lie about the way things are.” We hope that this series will pique your interest to do more research. These stories of resilience include stories of pain, suffering, happiness, joy, success and accomplishments — stories about past, present and future history makers. Black History Month is one of sev- eral heritage months on the national calendar. A quick online search reveals other heritage months that include Irish American and Greek American Month in March, Arab American Month in April, Asian American and Pacif- ic Islander Month in May, Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, German, Filipino, Italian Month in October, Native American Month in November. Many of these heritage months were established because the full history of our country and world was not being taught in the mainstream classrooms. Teaching history is under attack, and it is important that we tell more stories about the truth of our shared history. Here is a quote by Woodson from his book “The Mis-Education of the Negro:” “If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.” sam Collins III is a local historian and co-chair of the Juneteenth Legacy Project. saM COLLINs III By Katelyn Landry F rom 1816-1865, more than 14,000 enslaved Africans and African Americans forcibly were brought to Galveston by ship. Many more found themselves on the island to be sold on The Strand, performing domestic labor for white residents, working on the wharves and encoun- tering other brutal realities under the domination of slavery. Historians of slavery have looked to the archive to recover the names and stories of enslaved Africans and Afri- can Americans whose bodies, labor, knowledge and skills were exploited to build the nation. Although enslaved people’s stories traditionally have been silenced in the archive, by reading against the grain, we can start to reveal their perspectives and experi- ences which white supremacist power structures attempted to erase from the historical record. In 2021, as an intern for the Galves- ton Historical Foundation and with funding from the Mellon Mays Under- graduate Fellowship, I created a digital exhibit titled “Facing the Gulf: Learn- ing Stories of Slavery in Galveston.” Using digitized archival documents, the exhibit features interactive text, timelines and maps that foreground the lives and experiences of enslaved Africans and African Americans who lived in or passed through Galveston. Following the lead of Black scholars who advocate for decentering narratives and language used by enslavers and white elites to describe enslaved people insufficiently in the historical record, “Facing the Gulf” seeks to recover en- slaved individuals from the margins of the archive and honor their humanity. One of the most crucial acts of re- storing humanity and individuality to enslaved people is by naming individ- uals whenever possible. In the “Sailing the Second Middle Passage” section of the exhibit, users can read 19th cen- tury ship manifests which document the names, ages, gender, heights and perceived complexions of enslaved individuals who were forcibly trans- ported to Galveston from New Orleans by sea. Researchers at Rice University have used these documents to identify more than 15,000 enslaved individuals who were forcibly brought to ports all along the Texas coast. The resulting data now is available on SlaveVoyages. org, the world’s largest publicly ac- cessible database on the movement of enslaved people. Many archival documents containing information about enslaved people use demeaning language that vividly illus- trates how their enslavers perceived them: as chattel. “Facing the Gulf” uses its digital platform to illustrate aspects of enslaved people’s lives that often were obscured from documents, like bills of sale or mortgages in which enslaved people were rendered as inhuman products or collateral. For instance, by synthesizing historical maps with census records, tax rolls and architectural history, I created an interactive map that identifies poten- tial locations of where some enslaved people likely lived in Galveston in the 1850s-60s. This map is located in the “Daily Life for Black Galvestonians” section, which also discusses acts of resistance on the island. “Runaway ads” routinely appeared in newspapers calling for the recapture of enslaved people who bravely resisted bondage. These documents, when read against the grain, are evidence of enslaved people’s agency which they retained even under the severely oppressive institution of slavery. Galveston’s history is rich with the stories of self-emancipated people, like 25-year-old Ben or captives of the coastwise slave trade, like 3-year-old Ellen. “Facing the Gulf” is one drop in an ocean of ongoing digital schol- arship, archival outreach and public history initiatives that are listening to the silences of the archive and creat- ing opportunities to find enslaved peo- ple’s stories, honor their humanity and contemplate how their struggles and resistance impact our society today. Search the SlaveVoyages website for digital records of enslaved Africans and African Americans. Scan the QR code or visit www.slavevoyages.org. View the digital archival exhibit and resource guide “Facing the Gulf: Learning Stories of Slavery in Galveston, 1816-1865.” Scan the QR code or visit www.digitalproj- ects.rice.edu/facingthegulf/about. DIGITAL RESOURCES AND LINKS STUART VILLANUEVA/The Daily News file photo Araminta Sorrell speaks about the significance of Juneteenth while guiding a tour group at the Absolute Equali- ty mural in downtown Galveston on June 6, 2023. Join us at Coastal, as we honor and celebrate the achievements, struggles, and powerful stories of Black people throughout history around the world, as well as in our very own backyard. Here’s to honoring the past, present, and looking to the future. BLACKHISTORYMONTHGALVESTON COUNTY, TEXAS Thursday, February 8, 2024 | THE DAILY NEWS | C3 C elebrating 181 Y ears By Carl Adams P rivate William Henry “Bill” Cos- tley joined the Union Regiment of the 29th United States Colored Troops (USCT) in September 1864. It was just a few weeks after Illinois’ only Black regiment virtually was wiped out, suffering about 70 percent casualties, at the infamous Battle of the Crater during the first Battle of Petersburg, Virginia. Pvt. Costley was 24 when he enlisted beside his brother-in-law, Pvt. Edward Lewis. Lewis had married Bill’s sister Amanda in 1858. Pvts. Costley and Lewis reported to Camp Butler in Springfield, Illinois. Pvt. Costley had been the first male slave legally eman- cipated by Attorney Abraham Lincoln more than 20 years before, as the first-born son of Nance Legins-Costley when Lincoln won her freedom in the Illinois Supreme Court in 1841. Volunteering in the summer of 1864 was an act of raw courage; the Fort Pillow massacre and “Crater” bloodbath were well known. The new replacements held no delusions as to what they could experience with Reb- els and yet they marched forward to a beat of “It’s now or never.” Recruiting for the (USCT) was so suc- cessful, a historic date of Dec. 3, 1864, should be underscored and notewor- thy on every Juneteenth calendar as a milestone of African American military history. That was the official date the U.S. War Department organized the first all-Black 25th USCT Army Corps of 30,000 men, whose service would ensure military rank for minority men for the rest of United States history. By April 9,1865, three Regt. of the 1st Div. from Richmond, 8th, 41st, and 45th of the 25th Corps and three Regt. of the 2nd Div. 29th, 31st and 116th USCT had managed to out-run Gen. Lee’s Army to Appomattox. The Rebels did not want to surrender to Black soldiers, so to keep the temporary truce, the USCT units were ordered off the field the next day. Union soldiers were eager to go home, but many Black soldiers were willing to stay. Gen. Meigs, Quarter- master, still had more than 3,000 sup- ply ships, so he quickly put to sea the largest amphibious operation of the war to send 30,000 troops of the 13th and 25th Corps to the Rio Grande, setting the stage for Juneteenth. Texas surrendered June 5th; the 28th Ind., 29th IL and 31st NY units of the 3rd BDE, 2nd Div. USCT arrived in Galves- ton Bay on June 18. The white units of 34th Iowa, 83rd and 114th Ohio and 94th IL all arrived within a few days. On June 19, Gen. Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3. Among the Union soldiers was Pvt. Costley, the first male slave freed by Lincoln almost a quarter century before. The Union soldiers were freedom fighters who saved America. Many of the Union soldiers were USCT. They left Galves- ton spreading the message of freedom throughout the state of Texas. From that day forward Galveston would forever be known as the birth- place of Juneteenth and the birthplace of freedom in Texas. Carl adams is a former Capt. USMC and Army Reserves, and he is the author of “NANCE: Trials of the First Slave Freed by Abraham Lincoln.” Courtesy A drawing of the Costley family with Pvt. Bill Costley as an infant child with his parents. Artwork by Kofi Kyei-Amponsah. The Union soldiers were freedom fighters that saved America. Many of the Union soldiers were USCT. They left Galveston spreading the message of freedom throughout the state of Texas. Story courtesy of Galveston Historical Foundation T he period immediately after the 1900 Storm was difficult for African Americans in Galveston. They lost all political influence as oppression steadily grew not only locally, but also across the state of Texas and the Deep South where Jim Crow laws were rampant. However, the growing prejudice did not halt the growth of economic progress of Galves- ton’s African-American community. In 1909, the City Times — the first Afri- can-American newspaper in Galveston — listed the demographics for the island’s African-American community: annual income in salaries, $332,514, over 1,000 black men employed at the wharves, 75 black-owned businesses, four physicians, four attorneys, 23 teachers and adminis- trators and 16 clergymen. In 1911, a group of African Americans met at Wesley Tabernacle Methodist Church to establish the Rosewood Cem- etery Association. In earlier years, Afri- can Americans purchased burial plots in an area designated for Black burials at Galveston’s Lakewood Cemetery. Some African Americans were able to pur- chase plots designated for Black burials in other white cemeteries, but the only other place for African Americans to be buried was the New Potters Field, a considerable distance on the outskirts of town. W. S. Chinn, the pastor of the church, told the group “a site has been offered to the colored people consisting of 8½ acres for $1,000 or $1,200. An orga- nization consisting of 40 people who would pledge themselves to pay $30 apiece should be formed.” Everyone in attendance voted to form the cemetery association. The association purchased the land for Rosewood Cemetery from the Joe Levy Family. Ownership was divided among 86 shares with 26 sharehold- ers. The first person buried was Robert Bailey on Feb. 1, 1912; the last burial was Frank Boyer on June 29, 1944. The association provided guidelines for the grave coverings: “The owner will be expected to put a neat curbing around the space he buys.” Some of the original curbing exists in tile form and could represent cultural/tribal affiliation. Recorded minutes show gravesites sold for $10 plus $2 for grave digging. Most of the identified headstones date from 1914 and 1915. On Sept. 7, 1945, Wright Cuney Lodge No. 63, one of the sharehold- ers, executed a document to sell its 19 shares to Thomas D. Armstrong, who represented the County of Galveston in the acquisition of land for expansion of the seawall. In 1951, the County of Galveston purchased a large portion of land from the Rosewood Cemetery Association. The seawall soon was extended west of 61st Street, but con- struction blocked the natural outlet for Green’s Bayou, which now causes the cemetery to flood during heavy rain. In 1957, Armstrong purchased the re- maining shares of the cemetery. In the early 1980s, the Armstrong estate sold the land to John and Judy Saracco. The Saraccos donated the cemetery to Gal- veston Historical Foundation in 2006. Of the 411 people buried at Rosewood, the exact number of burials remaining on the 1.255 acres is still unknown. Surveys conducted after GHF assumed ownership of the cemetery identified only 20 remaining grave markers. Rosewood Cemetery is significant in Galveston’s history as the first burial ground designated for African Amer- icans on the island. A number of promi- nent African Americans are buried at the cemetery with a sizable number being leaders and workers who held life-long positions on the wharves of the Port of Galveston. The labor orga- nizations that formed for those workers provided an opportunity to improve their lives and economic position and thus allowed them to buy plots in Rosewood. Rosewood Cemetery holds burials from WWI veterans and many from the hurricane of 1915. Some of the stone and concrete markers in the cemetery are decorated and hand- carved. Located between 61st and 69th streets, and between Central City Boulevard and Seawall Boulevard, Rosewood Cemetery can be accessed from Seawall Boulevard via 63rd Street. A Texas Historical mark- er for Rosewood Cemetery dedicated in 2011 provides a layer of education and interpretation to visitors about Afri- can-American history on the island. JENNIFER REYNOLDS/The Daily News file photos LEFT: The name of an African American person and date of death is scratched into headstone at Rosewood Cemetery in Galveston on Jan. 26, 2021. RIGHT: A head- stone and brick and concrete grave marker are piled on the west side of the Rosewood Cemetery in Galveston.C4 | THE DAILY NEWS | Thursday, February 8, 2024 GALVESTON COUNTY, TEXAS C elebrating 181 Y ears Highlights of the Douro with Spain NOVEMBER 4, 2024 BOOKING #177708 (Web Code) Treasures of Ireland MARCH 12-20, 2024 BOOKING #173403 (Web Code) Canadian Rockies & Glacier National Park AUGUST 4, 2024 BOOKING #177707 (Web Code) Highlights of Scandinavia AUGUST 15, 2024 Booking #181615 (Web Code) 9 Days 7 Days 9 Days 11 Days The Galveston County Daily News is pleased to partner with Premier World Discovery to offer opportunities for our readers and friends to travel together on journeys around the globe. As a group travel specialist, Premier World Discovery specializes in traditional escorted tours, unique rail tours, “one hotel/unpack once” tours and river cruise charters. Seating is limited so please RSVP 409-683-5200 jawanna.dunn@galvnews.com Tour with us! Travel The World In 2024 CALL TODAY! Hurry! Please join us for an informational presentation February 20 @ 10:00am The Galveston Daily News, 8522 Teichman Road, Galveston, Texas 77554 For more more information scan the QR Code or visit: https://galvestonthedailynewstravel.convertri.comNext >