Above: one of the earliest celebrations of Juneteenth at Emancipation Park in Houston in 1880. The park was created especially by local business leaders to serve as a gathering place for future Juneteenth celebrations. That tradition continues today in Houston. Image via the John Marshall Center (Creative Commons).

Happy Juneteenth, everyone!

It’s so awesome to see people celebrating this year, two years after it became an official U.S. holiday.

Houston has a deep connection to the holiday because it was first observed here in our city not long after the earliest celebrations in Galveston.

For anyone who wants to learn more about the holiday, I highly recommend Annette Gordon-Reed’s wonderful book, On Juneteenth, a memoir of her growing up in Texas (not far from where we live), published a few years ago. It’s a great read and it totally changed my perspective on the holiday and its meaning in Texas and beyond.

Happy Juneteenth! Enjoy the holiday!