A Juneteenth dance to the spirit of freedom
Above: Dancers take the stage during the 147th annual Juneteenth Celebration at Emancipation Park on Saturday. Right: Bailee Robinson, of Pearland, poses for a photo in front of the 1872 balloon sign, marking the year that Emancipation Park held its first Juneteenth celebration. The festival on Saturday drew thousands to Houston’s historic park in Third Ward.
Kamryn Jones spent her Saturday afternoon enjoying the splash pads with dozens of other children at Emancipation Park.
The 5-year-old and her family were among more than 5,000 Houston-area residents who came to the Third Ward park to celebrate the 154th anniversary of Juneteenth, an annual event commemorating the end of slavery in Texas.
Kamryn’s parents, Milton and Alisha Jones, moved to Houston from Washington, D.C., and New Jersey two years ago. Still exploring Houston, the young black couple were shocked to learn that it took more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and more than two months after the Civil War ended for slaves in Texas to learn that they had been freed.
After landing on Galveston Island with 2,000 soldiers, Union Gen. Gordon Granger read an order from the balcony of the Ashton Villa proclaiming the emancipation of people held as slaves on June, 19, 1865. Not observed in others places they had lived, Alisha Jones said they enjoyed learning about the history of Juneteenth and the family-friendly event with food, live music and activities for children.
“We didn’t know it would be this big, but it’s a huge event,” Milton Jones said.
Unable to secure a place to hold an annual Juneteenth celebration, four black ministers from Third Ward pooled $800 to buy 10 acres to create Emancipation Park in 1872. Donated to the city in 1916, Emancipation Park is considered the oldest park in Houston.
Emancipation Park Conservancy Executive Director Lucy Bremond said the Saturday event was one of several leading up to the actual anniversary of Juneteenth on Wednesday. The park underwent $33 million of renovations that were completed in time for the 2017 Juneteenth celebration. Bremond said the park will continue to host the annual celebration.
“We’re doing the things that people did when Juneteenth started,” Bremond said. “Having a celebration, having a barbecue and having some watermelon.”
A staunch supporter of the celebration, U.S. Navy veteran and retired oil and gas industry professional Herbert Fields said he is concerned by the multistory townhomes and condominiums popping up all over the historically African American neighborhood.
“They’re running the poor people out the community who have been there for generations,” Fields said. “They’re building these $200,000 and $300,000 homes, and the people who have been living there for generations can’t pay their taxes to live there anymore.”
Mayor Sylvester Turner said the city is trying to address those concerns through its Complete Communities Initiative, which seeks to build and maintain affordable housing while bringing in new businesses into older neighborhoods. An event scheduled for Monday will announce new communities selected to participate in the program that focuses on improving affordable housing, employment opportunities and quality of life in historically underresourced neighborhoods.
“The people there want quality housing, quality schools and quality grocery stories,” Turner said. “They deserve better and they want better, but as we do that, we need to maintain the affordability to make sure we’re not forcing the people who have been there for decades out.”
Looking at Saturday’s Juneteenth parade, Turner was encouraged to see a record 100 entries. Ranging from businesses to leaders across political and racial lines, he said that the event was as an example of the Houston tradition of celebrating each other’s cultural events
“All of us are made better when we can appreciate the culture and diversity of the people that make up the diversity of this city,” Turner said.