JUNETEENTH 2019

We are proud to announce the following events planned for the 2019 Juneteenth Celebration.

Download our brochure with full schedule here!

27th Annual Juneteenth Development Corporation Scholarship Gala

Sunday, June 2, 2019

Young Ladies ages 17 to 22 will compete for scholarships and prizes. The first place winner will be crowned Miss Juneteenth Ambassador. Contestants are judged on an oral presentation of their goals and aspirations; a creative talent; formal wear and a question and answer session.

Time: 7:00PM

Tickets: Adults $15 / Children $7.50 at the door

Contact: Dorothy Brown (409) 762-0063 or Wyzell Wortham-Lewis (409) 256-3208

Location: Old Central Cultural Center, 2627 Avenue M, Galveston, Texas 77550

23rd Annual Al Edwards' Juneteenth Banquet

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

The state theme "Come on Home Where It All Began" highlights the history of Juneteenth and its importance to our community and heritage. State Representative Senfronia Thompson of Houston will be the banquet speaker. Banquet Sponsorships: $350, $500, and $1,000. Individual Tickets $35. Old Central Cultural Center is home to Texas' First African American High School and Public Library.

This year's banquet speaker is State Rep. Senfronia Thompson of Houston. Rep. Thompson is the longest serving woman state legislator and African American in Texas history. She received her undergraduate degrees from Texas Southern University and her law degree from TSU Thurgood Marshall School of Law.

Time: 7:00PM

Tickets: $35

Contact: Pete Henley (409) 392-0317 or Douglas Matthews (409) 599-5520

Location: Old Central Cultural Center, 2627 Avenue M, Galveston, Texas 77550

"Memorial Service"

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Time: 7:00PM - 9:00PM

Location: Old Central Cultural Center, 2627 Avenue M, Galveston, Texas 77550

Contact: Sharon Holmes (409)457-1795

The 6th Annual Gala at Ashton Villa

Thursday, June 13, 2019

This event celebrates the Texas Legislature approval of the Juneteenth Holiday (House Bill 1016 approved in 1978) and the Juneteenth Holiday Statue erected at Ashton Villa in June 2006 by the Texas Emancipation Juneteenth Cultural and Historical Commission.

Time: 7:00PM

Contact: Pete Henley (409)392-0317 or Douglas Matthews (409)599-5520

Location: Ashton Villa, 2312 Broadway, Galveston, Texas 77550

Admission: Tickets are $25 each and a Reserved Table of 8 is $225

"Old Fashion Fish Fry" (BYOB)

Friday, June 14, 2019

Time: 6:00PM - 10:00PM

Location: Old Central Cultural Center, 2627 Avenue M, Galveston, Texas 77550

Contact: Sharon Holmes (409)457-1795

Green Book Lecture and Shoebox Luncheon
Hosted by Galveston Historical Foundation African American Heritage Committee

Saturday, June 15, 2019

Presented by Ruben and Toya Levi - Travelling during the Jim Crow era carried with it additional hardships for African Americans. With numerous African American families moving from rural to urban locales to take on industrial jobs, the ability for many of those families to attain vehicles became a reality. That didn't stop several cities and states from finding ways to discriminate against the African American traveler, though that was made illegal in the Civil Rights Act of 1875. These travelers had to work together to vacation and trek across the United States and frequently relied on the guidance of the "Negro Motorist Green Book" to find motels, gas stations, restaurants, and more. Although the Green Book supplied places to eat during travel, there were still places in between that were not open to the Negro travelers. Several travelers would pack what is known as a "Shoebox Lunch" to guarantee they had a meal to eat. This was a basic shoebox packed full of foods that would not spoil during a long trip. Seating is limited and reservations include access to the lecture and a specially specially prepared shoebox lunch for dining during the discussion.

Times: 11:00AM & 1:00PM

Location: Menard Hall, 3302 Avenue O, Galveston, Texas 77550

Tickets: $40 per person. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. SEATING LIMITED.
Click here to purchase tickets online.

Contact: Jami Durham (409)765-3453

"Cotton Ball" (BYOB/BYOF)

Saturday, June 15, 2019

Time: 8:30PM - 12:30AM

Location: Old Central Cultural Center, 2627 Avenue M, Galveston, Texas 77550

Contact: Sharon Holmes (409)457-1795

Father's Day Barbeque

Sunday, June 16, 2019

Time: 1:30PM - 5:30PM

Location: Old Central Jack Johnson Park Sunday

Contact: Sharon Holmes (409)457-1795

40th Annual Al Edwards' Juneteenth Prayer Breakfast

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

The Galveston Nia Cultural Center will provide a historical perspective of Juneteenth, the Emancipation Proclamation and General Order No. 3, along with the Fanfare Lutheran Music Academy and Dr. Stephen Duncan will perform as U.S. Major General Gordon Granger at the Ashton Villa Ballroom which once served as the Confederate Army headquarters. Annual Juneteenth celebrations occur in over 40 states in the United States. This event occurred in Galveston on June 19, 1865, two years after it was enacted in 1863. Galveston holds the distinction of being the place of the first reading of the Proclamation in the South. Former Texas State Representative Al Edwards sponsored two legislative bills establishing Juneteenth as a State Holiday in 1979 and providing for a Juneteenth Statue in Galveston. In June 2006, the Texas Emancipation Juneteenth Commission dedicated a $100,000 statue commemorating the State Juneteenth Holiday at the historic Ashton Villa, which was the first state government to recognize a holiday for African American people in the United States. Free breakfast after program provided by "You Can't Touch This."

Time: 8:30AM

Location: Ballroom of Ashton Villa, 2300 Broadway, Galveston, Texas 77550

Admission: Event is free and open to the public

Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church Annual Juneteenth Emancipation March and Program
"Celebrating Emancipation and 400 Years of Africa's Gifts to America"

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Time: 4:00PM - 6:00PM: African Village

Featuring an African drum circle, exhibits and children's arts and crafts - Reedy Chapel Church parking lot and Fellowship Hall prior to the Emancipation March and Program.

Time: 6:00PM - 8:00PM: Emancipation March and Program

Location: Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church, 2015 Broadway, Galveston, Texas 77550.
Marchers should meet at 5:55 p.m. on the steps of the Old Galveston Court House on 21st and Sealy. The march to Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church begins promptly at 6:00 p.m. (approximately 3 blocks to 2015 Broadway).

Contact: sbgillins@gmail.com

This year's program commemorates the 400th anniversary of the first Africans to arrive in the new world. As customary, we will reenact Galveston's first documented citywide celebration of emancipation-a jubilant march from the courthouse to the historic sanctuary of Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church, followed by an inspirational program. In addition, an African Village will transport you to the ancestral motherland with demonstrations and exhibits of African music, art and crafts before and after the march. Juneteenth refreshments; great family fun. One and all welcome.



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