HomeLifeCommunityPhoto Gallery: McAllen celebrates Juneteenth at site of historic Black church
Lorri De Jesus and her grandson, Kayzon McLaughlin, 2, attend the Juneteenth holiday observance at the historic Bethel Gardens on Monday, June 19, 2023, in McAllen. (Delcia Lopez | [email protected])
McALLEN — It would take more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation before enslaved people in Texas would learn they were, at last, free.
That day was June 19, 1865 when Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived on the shores of Galveston and read General Order No. 3, announcing that “all slaves are free,” has since become a day of remembrance and celebration known as Juneteenth.
In recent years, the jubilee celebration has grown locally, as the Black community here grows, and as the Rio Grande Valley’s role in the journey toward freedom has increasingly come to light.
To that end, members of Village in the Valley, or VIVA, an organization aimed at elevating the Black community through education and fostering unity, hosted a Juneteenth celebration Monday at the historic Bethel Gardens in South McAllen.
Abraham Hernandez reads the “Freedom Day” General Order No. 3 from June 19, 1865, which declared all slaves free, during the Juneteenth holiday observance at the historic Bethel Gardens on Monday, June 19, 2023, in McAllen. (Delcia Lopez | [email protected])A family listens to the Juneteenth proclamation reading by District 5 City Commissioner Victor Seby Haddad during the Juneteenth holiday observance at the historic Bethel Gardens on Monday, June 19, 2023, in McAllen. (Delcia Lopez | [email protected])Kayden Ramsamooj, 11, and Kyin McLaughlin, 3, attend the Juneteenth holiday observance at the historic Bethel Gardens on Monday, June 19, 2023, in McAllen. (Delcia Lopez | [email protected])Two young boys use an umbrella to take cover from the sun during the Juneteenth holiday observance at the historic Bethel Gardens on Monday, June 19, 2023, in McAllen. (Delcia Lopez | [email protected])Pastor Carl Flowers with the scriptural reading and invocation during the Juneteenth holiday observance at the historic Bethel Gardens on Monday, June 19, 2023, in McAllen. (Delcia Lopez | [email protected])A young girl peeks over her mother’s shoulder as “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black national anthem, is played during the Juneteenth holiday observance at the historic Bethel Gardens on Monday, June 19, 2023, in McAllen. (Delcia Lopez | [email protected])Lorri De Jesus and her grandson, Kayzon McLaughlin, 2, attend the Juneteenth holiday observance at the historic Bethel Gardens on Monday, June 19, 2023, in McAllen. (Delcia Lopez | [email protected])Muralist Cristela Cano Morales attends the Juneteenth holiday observance at the historic Bethel Gardens on Monday, June 19, 2023, in McAllen. Cano painted the murals along the wooden fence at Bethel Gardens. (Delcia Lopez | [email protected])
