GALVESTON, Texas — Ahead of Juneteenth, Galveston, Texas, was recognized as being the original birthplace of the African American holiday.
The City of Galveston hosted an event Friday that featured an unveiling of a new welcome sign along the highway to greet visitors who enter the island that read,"Welcome to Galveston – Birthplace of Juneteenth."
Juneteenth, a federal holiday celebrated annually on June 19, honors the emancipation of the last enslaved African Americans in a Confederate community in Galveston, Texas, who were notified that they had been freed two years after President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Galveston native and Juneteenth event organizer Douglas Matthews reminisced on his time growing up on the island, and the importance of what the day meant to the community.
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