Juneteenth attention means bigger crowds, same joy, for Galveston

Gwynethia Shabazz Pope didn’t need Juneteenth to be a nationally recognized holiday to have a good time. Celebrating the day Texas slaves gained their freedom blocks from where word of emancipation rang out is in her DNA.

It will be nice, however, to see a lot more faces in the crowd.

“It makes you feel proud the world recognizes something we have always done,” Pope said.

A day of events across the Island will seal Galveston’s place in America’s newest holiday, a cause for celebration Galveston residents have rallied for for years. This year’s festivities include daytime gatherings, an evening march, fireworks and dedication of a new mural in the spot where Gen. Gordon Granger, commander of the Union army in Texas, proclaimed in a general order on June 19, 1865, that “the people of Texas are informed that … all slaves are free.”

Soldiers read Granger’s order to the public from the Union’s headquarters at 22nd and Strand where the mural now stands though the headquarters does not, marching then to the U.S. Customs House and then to what is now Reedy Chapel – AME Church.

The sites are now parts of Galveston’s growing Juneteeth celebration, and drawing attention from a widening group of celebrants.

“I have gotten calls from all over the world,” Pope said. “The recognition should definitely bring awareness.”

No scheduled series of events can ignore that racism still pervades and oppresses some people, she said, but does make her more optimistic that issues can be addressed and more people can view Juneteenth as a day of joy.

For her, the events are a family affair.

“This is my father’s legacy,” said Pope, daughter of Jama Jihad Shabazz, a mainstay of the island’s Juneteenth parade and picnic. “He has done this parade for as long as I can remember.”

Coach Jib, as he was known, died in July, with Pope picking up role of parade organizer for the 42nd annual event.

dug.begley@chron.com