Galveston College recognized the oldest celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States with a Juneteenth luncheon on June 19 in the Cheney Student Center dining room.
The Galveston College Office of Student Activities and Student Government Association partnered with Mr. C’s Dugout to provide a soul-food lunch menu, including smothered pork chops, white rice, cabbage, macaroni and cheese, candied yams, black-eyed peas and cornbread.
The SGA served up free peach cobbler and ice cream and shared a poster display with information on the history of Juneteenth in Galveston and in the USA.
Juneteenth is a holiday commemorating the freedom of the slaves in the United States. The name Juneteenth is a combination of the words June and nineteenth. The day is also called Emancipation Day and Freedom Day.
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862. It went into effect on January 1, 1863. However, slaves were not set free in the Confederacy until the Union army was able to come in and take over. On June 18, 1865, the Union army arrived in Galveston, Texas. The next day, June 19, General Gordon Granger announced that the slaves in Texas were free by order of the president of the United States.
The former slaves in Galveston celebrated the day that they were set free. The first Juneteenth celebration took place the very next year. The annual celebration began to spread throughout Texas and surrounding states. In 1980 it became an official state holiday in Texas.
Above: Galveston College Nursing students enjoy soul food from Mr. C’s Dugout and peach cobbler and ice cream courtesy of the Student Activities office and Student Government Association during Galveston College’s Juneteenth celebration on June 19.