The Full Story
About Juneteenth
On June 19, 1865, the residue of slavery was finally extracted from the origin of its roots in the south as you may recall, the Emancipation Proclamation (1863) only freed slaves who lived in the southern Confederate states. These slaves were allowed to join the Union Army and fight for the abolishment of slavery. The war was won, however, the fight to illegalize slavery was a slow, stubborn, debilitating process.
It wasn't until two years later, that the news finally reached Texas.
Towards the final curtain call of the civil war, many slaveholders retreated to Texas, due to its geographical isolation and lack of union presence in the state.
On June 19, 1865, after General Robert E. Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865, federal troops, led by General Major Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war was over and that the
enslaved were free. The jubilation ensued, and thus, we continue this celebration of independence from the chains that shackled African Americans to an initial existence of bondage and degradation.
Vision
The vision behind celebrating this milestone in our history is to first bring awareness of Juneteenth to our communities. Secondly, the objective is to educate our youth about their history. Most importantly, we want to invest in the futures of our youth! While we can not re-write our history, we can take a stand and set the trajectory of our future. So here we are three years celebrating our story (history) and now Juneteenth is a federal holiday. Throughout our documented and undocumented history we have remained powerful, knowledgeable, resilient, and so beautiful!!!
We Are Black!!
We Are Beautiful!!
We Are Enough!!!
Mission
The mission of the Black Citizens Council is to enrich the communities that created us. We plan to give back to the youth and educate them in ways the education system will not. We want to take the youth on field trips, college tours, and much more. We hope to host pageants, camps, and events that further our mission. This event will help fund all of the experiences that we hope to provide the community with.
