Juneteenth Celebration at the Freedom Center
On June 19, 2010 there will be a Junteenth Celebration in the Grand Hall of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. This event is free with the price of admission. The celebration will begin at 12 noon and go on through out the day. The walls of the Freedom Center will be filled with African drumming & dancing, dramatic readings, and storytelling. In the evening there is to be a program in the Harriet Tubman Theatre. The program will consist of praise dancing and dramatic spoken word.
The agenda for the day will go as follows:
12:00 p.m. - Juneteenth Recognition (A telling of the history and significance of Juneteenth.)
12:15 p.m. - African Drumming & Dancing
1:30 p.m. - Dramatic Reading (Children oriented)
2:30Â p.m. – First-Person Interpreter (The life of Isaac Johnson)
3:00 p.m. - Junteenth Recognition (A telling of the history and significance of Juneteenth.)
3:15 p.m. - African Druming & DancingÂ
Later in the evening join us for the inaugural performance of The Triumph Dance Company at 7:00 p.m. in the Harriet Tubman Theater. Â Admission is $10.00.Â
History of Juneteenth
Juneteenth originated as a celebration of the ending of slavery in Texas. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger and 1,800 troops of the Union Army arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that the Civil War had ended and all enslaved persons were free.
The proclamation issued by General Granger General Orders, Number 3 announced:
The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer. . . .
That evening, thousands of people in Galveston celebrated their freedom with dancing, singing, and feasting. Today Juneteenth is celebrated not only in Texas, but in cities throughout the United States. It is a time for people to recount the events of the past and celebrate liberty for all people.
