The island city where Juneteenth was born
Written by Black Hot Fire Network on June 21, 2025
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Galveston, Texas celebrates itself as the birthplace of Juneteenth (Credit: Getty Images)
One hundred and sixty years after word reached Galveston, Texas, that enslaved African Americans were now free, the city is honouring Juneteenth year round.
On 19 June 1865, a Union general arrived in Galveston, Texas – then a remote barrier island still under Confederate control – and informed a group of enslaved African Americans that the Civil War had ended and they were now free. Although President Lincoln had signed the
