We’re free
Celebrate Juneteenth today.
“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”
With those words, Gen. Gordon Granger rang the chimes of freedom in Galveston on this day in 1865 — a day that has been celebrated since as Juneteenth.
Former slaves in Houston, led by the Rev. John Henry “Jack” Yates, saw it fit to use their newfound wages to buy a piece of land where they could commemorate Juneteenth every year. So, in 1872, Emancipation Park was founded.
Over the weekend it was rededicated. More than $33 million in public and private dollars were spent to rebuild a dilapidated park and community center. You would think that a historic site so rooted in the celebration of American values like freedom and liberty would not need to be saved from disrepair. But it is a sad fact that the city of Houston has often treated this park with anything but respect.
Street names surrounding the park were spitefully renamed after a Confederate solider in 1892. Jim Crow laws drew a bright line around the 11.7 acres of parkland. Funds were poured into Hermann and Memorial and Buffalo Bayou parks while our city’s oldest slice of green space went ignored.
But now, with the reopening of Emancipation Park, Houston joins a national movement that’s working to scrape away the historic detritus of a cause dedicated to slavery and, once again, consecrate a corner of our city for the celebration of freedom. This isn’t mere metaphor. The name of Dick Dowling, a Confederate soldier, has rightfully been removed from the street bordering Emancipation Park and replaced with a new, more appropriate name — Emancipation Avenue.
The work cannot stop here. Houston must continue to promote and celebrate our own history of liberation. This means City Hall, management districts and tax increment reinvestment zones developing the open lots around Emancipation Park and establishing a streetscape worthy of the historic site. This means erecting statues that commemorate Houston’s historic defenders of liberty. Think of Jack Yates. Think of Mayor Thomas Scanlan, who integrated city government after the Civil War. Think of Barbara Jordan, who broke racial barriers in U.S. politics. Think of the Rev. Bill Lawson, an icon of the civil rights movement whose dedication to peace remains a model for our city.
But for now, think of the fact that here, in the heart of Houston, we’ve preserved a park that was built by former slaves to celebrate their newfound freedom. Even now, 145 years later, we’re working to ensure that Houstonians will always have a place to celebrate Juneteenth and ring the chimes of freedom.