Celebration in Song

ID: 2859 ~ Source: Stephenson, Mrs. Charles (Grace Murray). “[Emancipation Day Celebration band, June 19, 1900],” photograph. June 19, 1900. University of North Texas Libraries. The Portal to Texas History. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth124054/. Crediting Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.
This file appears in: Juneteenth
Celebration in Song

Over the years, music has played an important role in Juneteenth celebrations, particularly the gospel music tradition. In Waco, churches like the Second Baptist Church often hosted concert events to celebrate Juneteenth—one of which included a five-hundred-person choir in 1933.

This file appears in: Juneteenth

By Allie Roberts
On June 19, 1865, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, heard the news of their freedom. More than two years earlier, President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation to establish the freedom of enslaved people in Confederate States…