Black History & Juneteenth in Dallas

How Juneteenth began

On June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and issued General Order No. 3, announcing that "all slaves are free" and establishing, in the order's own words, "absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves." TheNational Archivesdescribes Juneteenth as the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. Roughly 250,000 enslaved people in Texas were affected by that announcement, per the Texas State Historical Association'sHandbook of Texas.

From local tradition to federal holiday

Early Juneteenth observances in Texas combined thanksgiving ceremonies, political rallies, voter education, picnics, and family reunions. Freed communities often purchased land specifically for these celebrations, sometimes naming it Emancipation Park, per the Handbook of Texas. Texas designated Juneteenth a state holiday in 1979, following legislation introduced by state representative Al Edwards, with the first state-sponsored observance held in 1980. It became a federal holiday decades later: theJuneteenth National Independence Day Actwas signed into law on June 17, 2021, after passing the Senate on June 15 and the House on June 16, making it the 12th federal holiday and the first new one added since Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday was recognized in 1983.

How Dallas marks the day

The City of Dallas'sofficial news pagedescribes Juneteenth as "the country's second Independence Day" and says the city marks the occasion mainly through community programming, library events, concerts, festivals, and recreation center activities, rather than a single formal proclamation. Both the city and Dallas County close offices in observance; for 2026 that closure is published as Friday, June 19, 2026, on both theCity of Dallas andDallas County holiday pages.

City and county holiday pages are updated annually. Check them directly before planning around a closure.

Freedmantowns and the neighborhoods they built

After 1865, Black Dallasites established independent freedmantowns, including North Dallas, Tenth Street, and Joppa, according to theCity of Dallas Office of Historic Preservation. These grew into self-sustaining neighborhoods with their own churches, schools, and businesses. The Tenth Street Historic District in Oak Cliff traces its settlement to an African American burial ground established in 1846, and theTexas Historical Commissiondescribes it as one of the few Dallas freedmen's towns that retains most of its original construction. Secondary reporting places its National Register of Historic Places listing on June 17, 1994, though we haven't independently confirmed that exact date against the primary federal record. TheQueen City Heights Historic Districtin South Dallas was listed on the National Register on March 23, 1995, recognized for its Black community heritage, community planning, and Bungalow and Craftsman architecture built between 1900 and 1949.

St. Paul United Methodist Church, built in 1873, is identified by the Texas Historical Commission as among the oldest African American congregations in Dallas. Freedman's Cemetery was established in 1869 as a burial ground for formerly enslaved people; community activism in the late 1980s altered expressway construction plans, and more than 1,000 burial sites were documented and are now commemorated with a memorial. Booker T. Washington High School, now the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, replaced the 1892 Dallas Colored High School in 1922 and served Black students countywide until integration in 1976.

Juanita Craft and civil rights organizing

Juanita J. Craft (1902 to 1985) joined the NAACP in 1935 and served as Dallas membership chairman and Texas field organizer. TheNational Park Servicecredits her with organizing 182 branches of the NAACP over 11 years. She became the first African American woman to vote publicly in Dallas County and organized 1955 protests against segregation policies at the State Fair of Texas. The Dallas Public Library's Dallas History and Archives Division holds a Juanita Craft manuscript collection, accessible through Texas Archival Resources Online.

Where to see this history

TheAfrican American Museum, Dallaswas founded in 1974 at Bishop College by Dr. Harry Robinson Jr., then the college's chief librarian. After Bishop College's 1988 bankruptcy, the museum relocated to Fair Park and opened a new 38,000-square-foot building there in November 1993. It houses one of the largest collections of African American folk art in the United States, more than 500 objects, and its long-running exhibit "Facing the Rising Sun: Freedman's Cemetery" represents the Dallas community historically known as Freedman's Town.Remembering Black Dallas, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, preserves and promotes African American life, history, and culture in Dallas through heritage tours, historical markers, genealogical research, and educational programming.