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e-culture: Please join us for a Gulf Coast Juneteenth, June 18 at Miller Outdoor Theatre
June 15, 2006
IN THIS ISSUE
A Gulf Coast Juneteenth
More on Juneteenth...
A Gulf Coast Juneteenth
A free concert produced by the Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston project and Houston Institute for Culture
Featuring Grady Gaines and the Texas Upsetters, New Birth Brass Band, and Lil Brian and the Zydeco Travelers
Sunday, June 18, 2006
7:30 - 10:30pm
Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park
across Main and Fannin from Rice University
A Gulf Coast Juneteenth is presented by Houston Institute for Culture, The Orange Show, Project Row Houses, FotoFest and the UH Vietnamese Studies Program, with generous sponsorship from the Miller Theatre Advisory Board.
Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston is a partnership of the Texas Commission on the Arts, The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and the University of Houston and is funded by the Houston Endowment.
The Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston project provides hurricane survivors with the training to document the stories of their fellow evacuees and to do so on the survivors' own terms - for the national memory and historical record, and to acquaint and connect recently-arrived residents of the city with their neighbors and fellow Houstonians.
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More on Juneteenth...
Texans celebrate the abolition of slavery during Juneteenth. More than two months after the end of the Civil War (which ended April 9, 1865), it was proclaimed in Galveston by Major General Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865 that slaves were to be freed.
There are different stories associated with the Juneteenth event. Some say it was not exactly known when slaves were set free and land-owners kept the declaration to themselves to force slaves to harvest spring crops, and others tell of a Black rider spreading the word from town to town setting slaves free throughout the month of June.
Juneteenth celebrations of Emancipation Day have been an important avenue for older generations to teach younger people about their struggles and victories since the remembrance began in 1866. Prompted by Frederick Douglass, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, decreeing freedom for slaves.
Today, families celebrate that freedom on June 19th, and the weekends in close proximity, with picnics, sports events and other outdoor activities in Texas, as well as neighboring Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Popular public events include Juneteenth music festivals featuring important African American music genres such as gospel, jazz, blues and zydeco.
Thank you for supporting great educational and cultural events in Houston.
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M a r k @houstonculture.org
Houston Institute for Culture
Havens Center
1827 W. Alabama Street
Houston, Texas 77098
HOUSTON INSTITUTE FOR CULTURE SEARCH info@houstonculture.org