JUNETEENTH

Formerly enslaved people in Galveston celebrated after the announcement. The following year, freedom in Texas organized the first of what became the annual celebration of "Jubilee Day" (Day of Jubilee) on June 19. Early celebrations were used as political rallies to give voting instructions to newly freed slaves. Early independence celebrations often occurred on January 1st or the 4th.

In some cities black people were barred from using public parks because of state - sponsored segregation of facilities. Across parts of Texas, freed people pooled their funds to purchase land to hold their celebrations. The day was first celebrated in Austin in 1867 under the auspices of the Freedmen's Bureau, and it had been listed on a " calendar of public events" by 1872. That year black leaders in Texas raised $1,000 for the purchase of 10 acres (4ha) of land to celebrate Juneteenth, today known as Houston's Emancipation Park. The observation was soon drawing thousands of attendees across Texas; an estimated 30,000 black people celebrated at Booker T. Washington Park in Limestone County, Texas established in 1898 for Juneteenth celebration. By the 1890's Jubilee Day had become known as Juneteenth.

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In the early 20th century, economic and political forces led to a decline in Juneteenth celebrations. From 1890 to 1908, Texas and all former Confederate states passed new constitutions or amendments that effectively disenfranchised black people, excluding from the political process. White dominated state legislatures passed Jim Crow laws imposing second - class status. Glady's L. Knight writes the decline in celebration was in part because "upwardly mobile blacks [...] were ashamed of their slave past and aspired to assimilate into mainstream culture. Younger generations of blacks, becoming further removed from slavery were occupied with school [...] and other pursuits. " Others who migrated to the Northern United States couldn't take time off or simply dropped the celebration.

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The Great Depression forced many black people off farms and into the cities to find work. In these urban environments, African Americans had difficulty taking the day off to celebrate. From 1936 to 1951 the Texas State Fair served as a destination for celebrating the holiday, contributing to its revival. In 1936 an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people joined the holiday's celebration in Dallas. In 1938, Texas Governor James V. Allred issued a proclamation stating in part: