The city designated five sites you can walk to explore how the events of June 19, 1865 unfolded.
GALVESTON, Texas -- The most popular Juneteenth celebration of emancipation is in Galveston, Texas, where the last enslaved people were freed.Galveston Island is a beach town about an hour drive from Houston.On Pier 22 in Galveston, Texas, lies a small plaque that commemorates what happened there.
About a half block from the plaque is where ships from the middle passage docked, and where a building now stands used to be Sydnor's auction house where Black men, women and children were sold every Tuesday and Friday. It was the largest slave auction west of New Orleans. "Welcome to the Nia Cultural Center. This is where we expand the story of the journey of freedom," said local historian Sam Collins.Collins said after the Civil War, Port Galveston was the farthest and last to surrender.
When asked if ending slavery was all about goodwill or if there was politics wrapped up in it, Collins said,"Oh, it was actually a war tool that was used by Lincoln to weaken the south."