June 16, 17 & 18: City of Dallas celebrating Juneteenth
City of Dallas sent this bulletin at 06/15/2016 04:22 PM CDT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
June 15, 2016 Rosa Gallegos– Mayor and City Council
(214) 670-4052
City of Dallas celebrating Juneteenth; A celebration of liberation
Three upcoming events free and open to the public
What: Juneteenth Picnic on the Plaza
Food Trucks and Proclamation Presented
When: Thursday June 16 - 11:30 a.m. to 1p.m.
Where: Dallas City Hall Plaza, 1500 Marilla
Who: - City of Dallas BEST – Black Employees Support Team
- Office of Ethics and Diversity
- Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Erik Wilson
- Council Member Rickey D. Callahan
What: Juneteenth Festival
Music, Games, Food, Live entertainment, storytelling, face painting and lots of fun.
When: Friday June 17 - 1 to 4 p.m.
Where: West Dallas Multipurpose Center, 2828 Fish Trap Road
Who: City of Dallas, Atmos, Sams Club and TXU Energy
What: 2016 Annual Juneteenth Celebration
Live entertainment, vendors, food trucks, games and bounce houses and free giveaways
When: Saturday June 18 - Noon to 5 p.m.
Where: MLK Community Center, 2922 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Who: MLK Board Members www.mlkcelebrationsdallas.org
Council Member Rickey D. Callahan wants all to remember and celebrate Juneteenth. 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 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. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.
Later attempts to explain this two-and-a-half-year delay in the receipt of this important news have yielded several versions that have been handed down through the years. Often told is the story of a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom. Another is that the news was deliberately withheld by the enslavers to maintain the labor force on the plantations. And still another is that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. All or none of these versions could be true. Certainly for some, President Lincoln’s authority over the rebellious states was in question For whatever the reasons, conditions in Texas remained status quo well beyond what was statutory.
