Texas History
May 18, 2023
The Story We’ve Been Told About Juneteenth Is Wrong
The real history is much messier—and more inspiring.
Juneteenth
Texas Icons
January 17, 2023
A Letter to My Fellow Black Texans About Juneteenth
The day commemorating the emancipation of slaves in Texas says as much about our future as our past.
News & Politics
June 16, 2022
After 41 Years of Tragedy, Disrepair, and Disease, Juneteenth Is Back at Comanche Crossing
The most dynamic freedom celebration in Texas, begun in the nineteenth century, returns to life.
Art
June 16, 2021
Meet the Artist Behind Galveston’s New Juneteenth Mural
Reginald Adams led the team that designed ‘Absolute Equality,’ a landmark mural marking the spot where slavery was abolished in Texas.
News & Politics
May 24, 2021
The Ghosts of Comanche Crossing
In 1981 three Black teenagers drowned while in law enforcement custody during a Juneteenth gathering at Lake Mexia. Four decades later, Texas’s proudest Emancipation Day celebration still hasn’t recovered.
Books
May 11, 2021
Annette Gordon-Reed Explores the Tangled Meaning of Juneteenth
In her new book ‘On Juneteenth,’ the Pulitzer Prize–winning historian takes on the Texas holiday that has gone national.
Art
October 16, 2020
Diedrick Brackens’s New Exhibition Mythologizes Blackness and Queerness
The Mexia-born artist’s new Blanton Museum show, “darling divined,’’ features striking woven textiles that reimagine stories central to his upbringing.
Film & TV
June 19, 2020
The Film ‘Miss Juneteenth’ Honors Fort Worth’s Historically Black Communities
The feature debut, which was awarded SXSW’s Louis Black “Lone Star” Award earlier this year, centers on the story of a mother and daughter navigating a scholarship pageant.
BBQ
June 19, 2020
Greg Gatlin on Juneteenth, Black Lives Matter, and Being a Black Pitmaster in Texas
“I always just hope that it’s a well-rounded story that we’re telling," the Houston chef says.
Being Texan
June 18, 2020
Essay: Celebrating Juneteenth in 2020 Is an Act of Resistance
I’ve always observed Juneteenth, but this year the stakes feel higher than ever.
Texas History
June 19, 2019
Why This Mexican Village Celebrates Juneteenth
Descendants of slaves who escaped across the southern border observe Texas’s emancipation holiday with their own unique traditions.
BBQ
June 17, 2016
Eugene “Hot Sauce” Williams
The contributions of African Americans to our country’s barbecue culture are often overlooked. The influences can be hard to trace, which make it tempting to ignore them. Throughout Texas and the rest of the country, records of black barbecue culture are either gone or never existed in the first place. Most newspapers and magazines were
BBQ
June 16, 2015
Juneteenth and Barbecue
The menu of Emancipation Day.
News & Politics
May 31, 1996
Around the State
THE MAIN EVENTShtick Shift These days, stand-up stalwarts like Jerry Seinfeld and Ellen DeGeneres get rich off genial, self-deprecating, politically correct routines, but comedy has not always been so pretty. For half a century or so, in cheesy lounges and joke-filled rooms, Vegas and the Borscht Belt have buckled under
Texas History
May 31, 1988
Texas Primer: Juneteenth
It began in 1865 as a joyous celebration of emancipation. Today young black Texans find the holiday overshadowed by more immediate concerns.