Emancipation Park

In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Lincoln freeing slaves across the United States, but it didn’t reach Texas until June 19, 1865 when Union General Gordon Granger declared that “the people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.” This date has been memorialized into history and is now known throughout the world as Juneteenth.

In Houston, Juneteenth has been celebrated at Emancipation Park for more than 140 years and is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. Emancipation Park was founded in 1872, by four former slaves, Reverend Jack Yates, Reverend Elias Dibble, Richard Allen and Richard Brock, who led an effort to raise $800 to purchase 10 acres of park land to honor their new found freedom and to host Juneteenth celebrations. Reverend Yates’ church, Antioch Baptist, and Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church formed the Colored People’s Festival and the Emancipation Park Association. The churches served as the coordinators of many of the celebrations.