June 13, 2021
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
Vol. 26, Issue 21
who police the police? “Addressing Current & Historical Realties Affecting Our Community”
FATHER OF JUNETEENTH By: Roy Douglas Malonson
Some things are long overdue, however, slowly but surely, it appears we are starting to turn a page in America. Juneteenth, a day many of us in Texas are more than familiar with, is starting to gain more attention across America. This year, as the day approaches, cries for social justice and forward movement for African Americans are starting to be heard, even though we still have a long way to go. We just celebrated the grim 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre and the racially-motivated burning of Black Wall Street and President Joe Biden has recognized it as one of the worst atrocities against our people. Keep in mind, however, that Tulsa barely scratched the surface of the many (hidden from history) Black massacres in this country. So, as we celebrate Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, Emancipation Day, and America’s
Second Independence Day, let’s explore the history of what is now the longestrunning African American holiday. Juneteenth (short for “June Nineteenth”) marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. The troops’ arrival came a full two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, which was issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. The order had established that all enslaved people in Confederate states in rebellion against the Union “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free,” but in reality, the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t instantly free any enslaved people. The proclamation only applied to places under Confederate control and not to slave-holding border states or rebel areas Juneteenth cont’d page 2
By: AANI Staff
Hon. Albert Ely Edwards is the pioneer who fought and introduced the bill to make Juneteenth a state holiday. The former state representative, known as “The Father of Juneteenth,” died last year at the age of 83. The former Democratic legislator served south Houston’s House District 146 from 1979 to 2007, and again from 2009 to 2011. Per his bio on Historymakers.org, Edwards was born in Houston on March 19, 1937. He was the sixth out of sixteen children born to Reverend E. L. Edwards, Sr. and Josephine Radford Edwards. He graduated from Phyllis Wheatley High School and attended Texas Southern University, earning his B.A. degree in 1966. At the age of 41, Edwards entered politics and was elected to the Texas State Legislature from Houston’s House DisEdwards cont’d page 3 trict 146. His first
“OUR VOTE AND OUR MONEY ARE THE TWO MOST POWERFUL THINGS WE HAVE. BE CAREFUL WHO YOU GIVE THEM TO.” - ROY DOUGLAS MALONSON