< Previous10 | The Daily News | Juneteenth | February 2015 Father E.J. Stein gives the opening prayer during the 32nd Annual Honorable Al Edwards Juneteenth Emancipation Proclamation Read- ing and Prayer Breakfast on June 18, 2011 at Ashton Villa in Galves- ton. KEVIN M. COX/The Daily News it would be issued, but Lincoln waited for a military vic- tory before taking even this half step toward complete emancipation. ‘Thenceforth And Forever’ It wasn’t until September, after a quasi-victory at Antietam that the government decreed that as of Jan. 1, 1863 slaves in rebel states were “then thenceforward and forever free.” In the abolitionist strongholds of the Northeast the proclamation was greeted warmly. But in what is now the Midwest it was disparaged for making the war more about ending slavery than about putting down the re- bellion in the South. More importantly, perhaps, it stopped the great pow- ers of England and France from recognizing the Con- federacy as a legitimate government. Doing so would have been an enormous boost to Confederate fortunes. And while Lincoln had obvious practical reasons for issuing the proclamation, it was a turning point in the Civil War and Lincoln’s understanding of it. He had always thought the war would eventually extinguish slavery. But the proclamation and the atmo- sphere it created put slavery’s extinction — and possi- bly the Union’s victory — on a fast track. ‘Crowning Achievement’ By the summer of 1863, as a consequence of Lincoln’s changed thinking, more than 30 black regiments were under arms and 14 were ready for battle. The following year, Lincoln came under pressure to revoke emancipation to get the South to rejoin the Union, but he refused. He said he couldn’t break faith with the thousands of black soldiers who’d fought and died for their freedom. So when they gather at Ashton Villa in June, Galvesto- nians won’t be re-enacting history. But they’ll be com- memorating something the 16th President would say is far more important. Ultimately for Lincoln, emancipation gave the war a higher purpose. Renowned Lincoln scholar David Herbert Donald wrote that eventually Lincoln came to think of the proclamation as the “crowning achieve- ment” of his presidency. Text of General Order No. 3 ”The people of Texas are informed that in accor- dance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States all slaves are free. That involves an abso- lute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves and the connec- tion heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness there or elsewhere.” • 11February 2015 | Juneteenth | The Daily News | 11 I had the honor and privi- lege of successfully spon- soring House Bill 1016 in the 66th Texas Legislative, which made Emancipation Day Juneteenth an official state holiday. This accomplishment was not without difficulties. Some pseudo — sophisticates asserted that I had ignorantly chosen the wrong day. Other critics charged that the whole effort was trivial — it would neither alleviate the suffering of the poor nor ameliorate the effects of racism; indeed, that it would perpetuate clichés about red soda water and wa- termelons. June 19, 1865, was of course, the day slavery ended in Texas, and for that reason, its an- niversary has always been celebrated not only in Texas, but also in bordering areas of Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Today, Juneteenth is celebrated in over 40 states and 500 cities, as well as four foreign countries. The official recognition of Emancipation Day by the State of Texas was a significant step forward. It was a symbol — and symbols are important. What are the cross and flag — but symbols. I believe the biblical injunction that “It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.” This is a holiday not just for black Texas but for all Texans. This is a day to take pride in our culture and history. Freedom is worth celebrating and I am pleased that we in Texas have been celebrating it for 150 years. Also, I am proud that the celebration has been official for over 35 years in the great State of Texas and that I had a part in making it so. I want to thank the officials and people of Galveston for help- ing me celebrating this event for the past 35 years where it all began on Galveston Island by Union Army Gen. Gordon Granger. Happy Juneteenth! The Hon. Al Edwards is a former state representative for the State of Texas and lives in Houston. WHAT JuneTeenTH meAns To me hon. al Edwards Former state Rep. Al Edwards pauses between awards Thursday June 19, 2014, during the 35th annual Al Edwards Emancipation Proclamation Reading and Prayer Breakfast at Ashton Villa in Galveston. JENNIFER REYNOLDS/The Daily News Edwards speaks at the 35th annual Al Edwards Emancipation Proclamation Reading and Prayer Breakfast at Ashton Villa in Galveston. JENNIFER REYNOLDS/The Daily News more about hon. al edwards He is a former member of the Texas Legislature representing District 146. He was a senior member of the State Legislature, who served on three of the most influential Committees. He was the Chairman of the Rules and Resolutions Committee, Chairman of Budget and Oversight of the Ways and Means Committee and a member of the Appropriations Committee. He is the sixth child out of the sixteen children born into the union of Reverend E.L. Ed- wards, Sr. and Josephine Radford Edwards. He was involved in the Civil Rights Movement where he participated in peaceful marches and demonstrations throughout the United States of America with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Reverend Jesse Jackson, Reverend Bill Lawson, and others. He was a thirteen term elected member of the Texas House of Representative. In 1979, he authored and sponsored House Bill 1016, making June 19th (“Juneteenth”) a state paid holiday in Texas and he founded Juneteenth, U.S.A. In June 19, 1979, he started the Juneteenth Emancipation Proclama- tion Reading and Prayer Vigil at the historic Ashton Villa Mansion on Galveston Island, an event he has done for the past 35 years. 912 | The Daily News | Juneteenth | February 2015 By Robert Stanton For The Daily News I t was a jubilant day in 1865 when John Sweeny Jr., master of the Sweeny Plantation in Brazoria County, climbed atop an Osage orange tree to inform his slaves that they were free. “It is emotional to know that after hundreds of years of slavery that their prayer was finally an- swered,” said Sam Col- lins III, of the Galveston Historical Commission. “They prayed and hoped for freedom, and I can only imagine the jubilant feeling they had.” Today, a symbol of that freedom — The Freedom Tree where slaves learned of the Emancipation Proclamation — has been transformed into a piece of art by Galveston County artist Earl Jones. For over a century, the tree remained at the Swee- ny Plantation, which later became the site of a Chev- ron Phillips plant. Com- pany officials planned to cut down the tree because of work they were doing at the plant, but changed their plans after learning the origin of the tree. “From locals they found out that the tree was the actual tree that the en- slaved people were told to gather around when they were told about their free- dom in 1865,” Collins said. The tree had died and could not be moved, so Chevron Phillips made a donation to the Brazoria County Historical Museum to cover costs for Jones to carve the tree. Company officials delivered the tree to Stringfellow Orchards in Hitchcock. There, Jones had the massive tree cut into three pieces, then turned the pieces upside-down and began to carve it. For Jones, who studied under famed muralist John T. Biggers at Texas Southern University, the project held special significance. “It just so happened that descendents-wise, I had a connection with that tree,” said Jones, 58, of Hitch- cock. “My great-grandmoth- er was enslaved at that plantation. As a child I had always gone back and forth to Sweeny, and I still have family there. “As I was carving, I kept getting these images of our people, of what they went through and what this tree has seen,” Jones said. “It was very emo- ‘Freedom Tree’ finds new life steeped in history Earl Jones was commissioned by Chevron Phillips to carve a tree from the Sweeny Plantation. KEVIN M. COX/The Daily News Earl Jones talks about the sculpture he has made from the tree that the Emancipation Proclamation was read under at the Sweeny Plantation on Wednesday afternoon June 12, 2013. tional. The tree told me to tell the story from which we came (Africa) to the reading of the Emancipa tion Proclamation, from freedom through slavery, to freedom.” “As I was carving, I kept getting these images of our people, of what they went through and what this tree has seen. It was very emotional.” Earl Jones 8y February 2015 | Juneteenth | The Daily News | 13 Earl Jones talks about the sculpture he has made from the tree that the Emancipation Proclamation was read under at the Sweeny Plantation on Wednesday afternoon June 12, 2013. KEVIN M. COX/The Daily News tional. The tree told me to tell the story from which we came (Africa) to the reading of the Emancipa- tion Proclamation, from freedom through slavery, to freedom.” Jones, who prayed be- fore beginning the carv- ings, began the project in late September and com- pleted it in November. He said that he hopes the art will provide a means of reflection for those who see it, as well as to edu- cate young people about slavery. “I have a feeling of hope and of accomplishment in telling the story,” he said. “We’ve reached this point and we came from a rich heritage, and we need to move forward with that in the sense of how impor- tant family is.” The Brazoria County Historical Museum is at 100 E. Cedar St. in Angle- ton. For more information, call 979-864-1208. • 914 | The Daily News | Juneteenth | February 2015 WHAT juneTeenTH meAns To me Samuel CollinS iii O n May 23, 1861, three young black men, Frank Baker, Shepard Mallory and James Townsend, who were enslaved in the South rowed across the James River in Virginia and claimed asylum in a Union-held citadel. The Civil War had just began in April of 1861, and they decided to run away to the Union camp in hopes to gain their freedom. Adam Goodheart wrote an excellent article in The New York Times “How slavery really ended in America” on April 1, 2011. The article points out how one deci- sion early in the Civil War changed the course of his- tory. Goodheart points out that on May 23, 1861, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Franklin Butler’s decision to hold the three enslaved men as contraband changed the war. We must also realize the decision of those three men to run away was a key part to this story. Because they were considered property of a foreign country (the Confederacy), Butler was able to label the enslaved men as contraband. The enslaved men were being used by the Confederacy to build a Confederate gun emplacement. Therefore, during wartime, Butler had a right to seize any enemy property that was being used for hostile purposes against the Union. News quickly spread about Butler’s decision to keep the enslaved men and not return them to the Confed- eracy. Goodheart’s article states that Butler’s decision allowed hundreds of enslaved people the option to run for freedom. Before the Civil War was over eventually thousands of enslaved people would run for freedom. When we talk about Juneteenth we often refer to the Union soldiers that arrived in Galveston to finally free the enslaved people. The enslaved people are footnotes to the story and not seen as an integral part of fighting for their own freedom. Many of the slave owners and enslaved people moved into Texas during the Civil War. It was not easy for enslaved people in Texas to run away. Many did not run away because they did not want to leave family and friends behind. They did know that a victory by the Union would bring freedom. For those enslaved people that did choose to run away, some became Union soldiers. Many provided important information about the South to the Union. While still enslaved some of them helped Union spies. The Juneteenth story has many characters and it is important that we give a voice to the enslaved people that also fought for their own freedom. The presence of the 62nd United States Colored Troops to secure the southern border of Texas in May and June of 1865 be- fore June 19, 1865, is evidence of the former enslaved men willingness to fight for freedom. Butler’s strategic move to keep those three enslaved men as contraband led to not only freedom for them, but freedom for millions of enslaved people. Butler’s decision would not have been possible without the courage of Baker, Mallory and Townsend to choose freedom over bondage. Samuel Collins III lives in Hitchcock. Sam Collins III talks Ted Ellis’ paintings in “The Juneteenth Freedom Proj- ect” and how they celebrate the African American journey from the slave ship to the White House. JENNIFER REYNOLDS/The Daily News 1011D D Our Past. Our Present. Our Future. Our Strength. The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB Health) is proud to join Galveston in commemorating the 150th anniversary of Juneteenth. May our university and our community always embrace diversity in education, discovery and patient care as a core value and a way of life. www.utmb.edu16 | The Daily News | Juneteenth | February 2015 WHAT juneTeenTH meAns To me angela taylor-wilson A s a BOI, I’ve learned over the years some of the rich history that makes my hometown so very special. We have the first of many things pertain- ing to black history in Texas such as the first black high school, first black baptist church, first public library for blacks, even the first black heavy- weight champion of the world was from Galves- ton. But none of those “firsts” compares to the news that came on June 19, 1865, which has now become known and celebrated as Juneteenth across the nation. My first memories of Juneteenth come to mind when I was a teenager in the mid-80s. We used to have these huge celebrations at Kempner Park with food, music, games, and laughter. There used to be dances, balls, parades, and an array of events that unified our com- munities. It was a time of reflection and gratefulness toward those that paved the way for our families. They were good times. Then it stopped. Lost its grandeur. The leaders that came before us were getting older and/or passing away, and could no longer carry the load by themselves. It seemed as though the new gen- eration didn’t care, and there wasn’t anyone willing to step up to the plate to continue the tradition and the fanfare of Juneteenth in the full glory that it should be celebrated. I never fully understood what Juneteenth meant historically until I had gotten “older.” Why, you ask? Well, Juneteenth wasn’t something that I learned in my history classes in grade school or college. It was something that I learned as I grew “older” from people such as Ennis and Maggie Williams, Annie Mae Charles, Alfreda Houston, Doug Matthews, Michael Jackson of St. Vincent’s House, and even someone the same age as I, in the name of Sam Collins III. It wasn’t until I started working for The Daily News when I fully started to recognize that Juneteenth was a bigger deal than I thought. My boss, and our editor here at The Daily News at the time, Heber Taylor, really liked the history of Juneteenth and loved covering it as well. He would always make sure that every single Juneteenth event that occurred in Galveston County was in the paper, and he tried to make sure most of the events were covered too. It was through the coverage of our stories printed in this newspaper, which also was the first paper in the State of Texas, and all the events that were making its way back to be celebrated in Galveston and Galveston County that I came to the realization that Juneteenth isn’t just about the day the slaves in Texas found out that they were free, but it’s a day where Galvestonians of all races should feel proud to be a part of — 150 years later. I can’t even imagine the joy that was felt by those who were able to hear Gen. Gordon Granger issue General Order No. 3 on June 19, 1865, in my home- town. But I’m sure it was a day that if they were alive today, one they’d never forget. And one we should never forget either. It’s a day that should be celebrated across our country with pomp and circumstance. It’s just as much a part of the fabric and DNA of the United States as the Fourth of July. So, it makes me proud to say that I’m from “where it all began ...” Galveston. The place where slavery ended in the greatest nation and state in the world. Angela Taylor-Wilson is the community news editor for The Daily News. A crowd gathers at the Old Galveston County Courthouse for a reading of General Order No. 3, which was given on June 19, 1865 by Union General Gordon Granger freeing the slaves of Texas, during the Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church’s Juneteenth celebration on Tuesday evening June 19, 2012 in Galveston. KEVIN M. COX/The Daily News 121Gina M. Spagnola, IOM President Galveston Regional Chamber of Commerce Albert P. Shannon Chair of the Galveston Regional Chamber President of Frost National Bank Galveston Regional Chamber of Commerce Promoting and Advocating for Business and Community Development 2228 Mechanic Street, Suite 101, Galveston TX 77550 (409) 763-5326 | www.GalvestonChamber.com visit us in person, or call 409-763-5326 150 th Anniversary of Juneteenth Dear Friends, On behalf of the Galveston Regional Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Membership and Staff, we are incredibly honored to join in this yearlong celebration of the 150th Anniversary of Juneteenth, the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. Dating back to June 19, 1865, we celebrate that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston with the news that the Civil War had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Just recently at our 169th Annual Meeting, the Galveston Regional Chamber of Commerce recognized the following individuals and entities for their Juneteenth Spirit: Annie Mae Charles, Representative Al Edwards, Sharon Gillins Doug Matthews, Doug McLeod, Leon O’Neal, Old Central Cultural Center There are so many people and organizations that play a role in the celebration of Juneteenth and we are excited to contribute this year. Juneteenth plays an important role in Galveston and across the nation – your Galveston Regional Chamber of Commerce is so proud to be a part of it.18 | The Daily News | Juneteenth | February 2015 WHAT juneTeenTH meAns To me naomi mitchell carrier T alking Back Living History Theatre has been commissioned to “bring alive” Texas history from an African- American perspective, with reliance on research and documentary evidence. The sole purpose of my scripts is to provide documentary evidence of real events, real people, and real interactions. To give the enslaved a name, a face, a purpose, an intelligence, a perspective is humanizing for people who have been dehumanized, sold into slavery, over and over again. Sold by their own people, by any and all people; SOLD to satisfy the oil in the economic engines for three continents and The Caribbean: South America, North America, Europe, and The Caribbean. TBLH has had the pleasure of working with the Na- tional Park Service and some esteemed historic sites: George Ranch Historical Park, Sam Houston Memorial Museum, Texas Parks & Wildlife at Barrington Farm and Varner-Hogg Plantation, Brazoria County Histori- cal Museum. Every opportunity to tell our story was an opportunity to bring history to life. The point at which Jake was shot, running from the overseer in “Sweet By and By; the moment Bubba and Bell jumped the broom in “Jumpin’ Juba;” listening to Jeff Hamilton recall how he was runnin’ toward the tumbledown barn when, “I turned my head for one las’ look at my mother. She was stand-in in de cabin door, holdin her apron to her face and sobbin in a kind of hopeless way. I was not to see her again for a quarter of a century. She and the rest of the chirren were sol’ apart from one another and scat- tered all across Texas.” (Go Down, Old Hannah, “Little Slave for Sale — Cheap” page 38, UT Press, 2010) We have played with the themes of Juneteenth, people getting the word late and why? We have held picnics and parades, barbecues, bake-offs, and blues festivals. When it comes to the real reason we are cel- ebrating, that often gets lost in the shuffle. My first op- portunity to perform living history at the George Ranch was, for me, a confrontation: “Just how am I going to approach this?” I requested a grave be dug. The theme for Texian Market Days 1994 was “Civil War Texas.” I approached slavery from some undeniable aspects; religion, morality, and mortality as experienced in the death of a child, to whose funeral we march, we sang, we preached, and we buried the little one. History is: chronicles, eras, periods, times gone by and accounts of them. We recall these for different reasons: to celebrate, to lament, to learn. To know the past, especially that of yourself and your own people is essential for progress. I have always wanted to participate in PROGRESS. As a performing artist, author, and educator, history is so easily wed with art — music, theater, costumes and properties. Living history theater is so easily done in yards, on porches, in cabins, auditoriums, classrooms. If through the use of living history theater we may change the perception of Africans in America, I vote yes. Naomi Mithcell Carrier is an adjunct professor at Houston Commu- nity College and CEO of the Texas Center for African American Living History. Visit www.tcaalh.org. Dey’shreona Lynch, 16, of Texas City recites the poem The Negro Mother by Langston Hughes during the 5th Annual Stringfellow Juneteenth on June 19, 2010 at Stringfellow Orchards in Hitchcock. KEVIN M. COX/ The Daily News 115Next >