By Larry Starks
The Tucson Juneteenth Festival Celebrated its 51st annual Celebration on June 19, 2021. Due to COVID regulations in 2020, we were not able to hold an “in person” festival. So we are Celebrated 50/51 this year! Juneteenth is held every year to honor and observe the official emancipation of slavery in the United States on June 19, 1865
President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation had already been in effect since 1863, it wasn’t until two years later that Texas finally announced the abolition of slavery in the state.
On June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, General Granger rode into Galveston, Texas with over 1,800 troops and read the Third General Order, which read:
“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute and equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer.”
During the Civil War, white planters forcibly moved tens of thousands of slaves to Texas, hoping to keep them in bondage and away from the U.S. Army. Even after Lee surrendered, Confederate Texans dreamed of sustaining the rebel cause there. June 2, 1865, after the state’s rebel governor had already fled to Mexico, Confederate Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith agreed to surrender the state. For more than two weeks, chaos reigned as people looted the state treasury, and no one was certain who was in charge.
Many African- Americans fled, some across the river in Mexico, a less-remembered pathway to freedom in the decades before the Civil War. Others launched strikes or refused to work. But in a state where whites outnumbered slaves more than two–to-one, planters and ranchers did everything in their power to sustain slavery wherever they could.
Ending slavery was not simply a matter of issuing pronouncements. It was about forcing rebels to obey the law. To a very real extent, the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment amounted to a promissory notes of freedom. The real work on the ground of ending slavery and defending the rudiments of liberty was done by the “freedpeople” in collaboration with and backed by the force of the United States Army.
With their freedom in hand Texas slaves were at an impasse, do they leave the land that they have known and “work” for a master that has kept hem enslaved for years, or do they leave and celebrate their freedom on their own? Texas freedpeople kept alive the memory of emancipation and Reconstruction in ceremonies that eventually became named
“Juneteenth” began in 1866, the year after the proclamation, and grew dramatically after an 1867 parade in Austin, Texas.
The festival in Tucson began in the 1970’s by residents that had relocated to Tucson from the South. The festival began on “A” mountain park as a large “potluck” style celebration, with everyone gathering for food and fun. Over the past years it has grown so much, the venue has changed to much larger areas, such as Kennedy Park, Donna Liggins Center, Dunbar Historical Center, and lastly in 2019 at the Tucson Convention Center.
In 2016, Arizona became the 45th state along with the District of Columbia, to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday. As of this writing the Juneteenth has been recognized as a National Holiday!!
The festival this year consisted of two celebrations. A virtual Celebration sponsored by Pima College Visual Arts and the Tucson Juneteenth Celebration can be viewed on PCCTV Stream on YouTube at: Tucson Juneteenth Festival 2021:
This is a 2- hour event full of entertainment, education, and songs. An Evening event at the Dunbar Cultural Center, where over 400 people gathered to eat some good food, hear some great music, visit with old friends, view local merchants merchandise, and gather information from local vendors. We are looking forward to 2022, to be a much more successful and fun event as we prepare to “Celebrate Freedom” together.
If you would like more information, would like to Volunteer or be a part of the festival
Contact: Tucson Junteenth Committee – Tucsonjuneteenth@gmail.com
Larry Starks is a Native Tucsonan, volunteering with the Juneteenth committee since 2015, after the passing of his Brother Burney Starks. Mr. Starks holds a BS in Criminal Justice, MBA/PA. Mr. Starks is the Transition Coordinator with CAPE school, as well as Adjunct Professor with Pima CC. and longtime Vail resident.
Larrystarks65@gmail.com
