Robert Reid holds a flag during a Juneteenth celebration at the African Burying Ground Memorial Park. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Nearly 160 years after the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas, a new national Juneteenth center could be opening in Galveston in the next few years.
The Galveston Historical Foundation announced this week that they are in early stages of planning an official center that will help strengthen the foundation’s mission of historic preservation and history in Galveston County, especially surrounding the holiday of Juneteenth.
In November, the foundation will start seeking a master planning partner to support building the center. Qualifications for the partners are expected to be released Nov. 3, with the deadline being Dec. 22 for interested parties. The chosen partner is set to be announced in April.
Juneteenth, which was officially recognized as a federal holiday under the Biden administration in 2021, recognizes when enslaved people in Texas were notified about the end of slavery nearly six months after the Thirteenth Amendment was proposed.
In 1979, Texas passed House Bill 1016 to make Juneteenth an official Texas state holiday. Al Edwards, who was serving in the Texas House of Representatives, authored and sponsored the bill. Texas became the first state to recognize Juneteenth, with the recognition going into effect the following year.
“Galveston is where Juneteenth began, and where its story continues to live,” Alice Gatson, chair of Galveston Historical Foundation’s African American Heritage Committee, said. “Juneteenth’s Home brings a place of permanence, pride, and reflection for all who seek to honor freedom’s promise.”
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