Juneteenth festivities begin with fish fry this week

Juneteenth is a holiday celebrated on June 19 to commemorate the freedom of enslaved people in the United States. According to History. com, on that day in 1865 federal troops arrived in Galveston to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people were freed two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. In San Marcos, the festivities have been occurring annually for 30 years and will kick off this Friday.

“Juneteenth is not only about freedom, but it’s about giving. We give. We’re not takers,” said Hays County Constable and Juneteenth Foundation Board Chairman David Peterson. “All of the sponsors in this [Juneteenth] poster that we put out represent the whole county. It’s just not San Marcos. It’s just not I – it’s we. Everyone in this room is a part of this Juneteenth.”

Hays County Commissioners Court proclaimed June as a month-long celebration of Juneteenth in Hays County on Tuesday and gave further insight into some of the history behind the holiday.

“The [Emancipation] proclamation declared all enslaved people in the Confederate states in rebellion against the Union ‘shall be then, henceforward, and forever free.’ The Civil War did not officially end until April 9, 1865, when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox. Official notice to Texas came on June 19, 1865. The 19th Day of June — or Juneteenth — became a day of jubilation and liberation for Texas slaves, and today is the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery in our nation,” the proclamation stated. “The Honorable Al Edwards, a member of the Texas House of Representatives, authored and introduced H.B. 1016 in 1978 and on June 13th, 1979, Governor William P. Clements signed a bill into law that made the Juneteenth Emancipation Day an official state holiday in Texas.”

The month-long celebrations held by the Juneteenth Foundation will begin with the Fish Fry from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on June 7 at the Willie Mae Mitchell Center, located at 715 Valley Street. The BBQ Cook Off is from 5 to 9 p.m. on June 14 and from 12 to 6 p.m. on June 15. The Unity Walk setup is at 8:30 a.m., and the walk starts at 9 a.m. on June 15 at 200 South LBJ Drive. The federal holiday will be celebrated from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 19 at the Willie Mae Mitchell Center, and the Cake Action will be on the same day at 4 p.m. at 170 Charles Austin Drive.

According to the Dunbar Heritage Association President Alex Banbury and DHA Vice President Mittie Miller, there will be several Juneteenth events held by that organization as well. An educational children’s event, Why We Celebrate, will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on June 15 at the San Marcos Public Library. This is a free event but Banbury asked that each child be registered here dhasmtx.com/juneteenth-kidsevent prior to the event. DHA will host a community celebration from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 19 at the Dunbar Recreation Center. DHA will be having a Black Kings celebration from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on June 29 at the San Marcos Public Library.

“[The event on June 19 will begin with a] proclamation being read by several of our leaders here in San Marcos: the [Hays] County Judge, the Mayor, the Chief of Police, the President of Centro [Cultural Hispano] and the City Manager,” Miller said. “We’re really about educating and having fun — fun for the family. We want you to please join us on that day. … On the 29th of June, we’re going to be celebrating our Black kings, and when I say that [I mean] our Black brothers that are here and need lifting up.”

Judge Sandra Bryant said that there will be a Juneteenth Celebration from 1 to 5 p.m. on June 15 at the City Park Pavillion, located at 204 San Antonio Road in Buda.

Peterson has been Chairman of the Board of the Juneteenth Foundation for 30 years after following in the footsteps of many “mentors” that established the Juneteenth celebrations in San Marcos.

“Those mentors were Bob Burleson, Elmus Lee Peterson, Sammy Hartman, Miss Rose Brooks, Miss Helen Franks, Miss Cheatham [and] Miss Anderson,” Peterson said. “These are some mentors that I’m following in their footsteps and trying to carry on a tradition that now is a federal holiday. And we will do this from here on out as long as we’re able to move and get around within the city of San Marcos. It’s very important.”

Peterson said this year’s activities will include old traditions and new such as dominoes, a watermelon spitting contest and jump rope.

“Some of this is from the old school that the mentors want to keep up,” Peterson said. “It is amazing those [mentors] that are still with us.”

When Peterson was first asked to start organizing Juneteenth events in 1994, all he knew about was the BBQ Cookoff.

“I had no idea what I was getting into,” Peterson said, adding that the BBQ Cookoff started with only five cooks and has become a tradition across generations. “We’ve got cooks there, at least five that I know of that are coming this year, that have been there for 30 years. … Some of the cooks that have been with us for years and years and their kids that are still cooking.”

Find a full list of events at this link smtxjuneteenth.com/events.