The Legacy of Emancipation Park - Texas Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Previously at this location:

Emancipation Park

Marker Number: 14937

Marker Text:

Many Texas African-American communities began to regularly commemorate “Juneteenth” soon after the June 19, 1865, reading of the Emancipation Proclamation at Galveston by Union General Gordon Granger. Members of Antioch Baptist Church and Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church organized the Colored People of Harris County Festival Association to promote the annual Houston Juneteenth celebration. It soon became apparent that a permanent location for the celebration was needed, and in 1872, the Association purchased this ten-acre site for Emancipation Park. The creation of the park as a recreational and educational facility by the organization and its successors so soon after emancipation demonstrates the determination of African-Americans in Houston to create an institution that they owned and operated.

The park was the home of the first De-Ro-Loc No-Tsu-Oh (“Colored Houston” spelled backwards) Carnival in 1909. The carnival was patterned after the No-Tsu-Oh Carnival, and included attractions such as a Wild West show and a football game between Prairie View and Bishop colleges. The park was donated to the City of Houston in 1916, and when Houston parks were officially segregated in 1922, Emancipation Park became the only public park in Houston open to African-Americans until 1940.

Through years, the park has been the site of parades, concerts, movies, classes for youth and adults, and community meetings. Juneteenth celebrations continue at Emancipation Park, which remains an important central gathering place for area African-American residents. (2008)

Marker is property of the state of Texas

Marker Number: 19999 Marker Text: Emancipation Park was acquired in 1872 by previously enslaved African Americans who were in unanimous support of purchasing their own land on which to celebrate Juneteenth and to use for community development and cultural enrichment. Rev. Jack Yates (1828-1897) of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, Rev. Elias Dibble (1811-1885) of Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, Richard Brock (1824-1906) of St. Paul A.M.E. Church and Richard Allen (1831-1909), civic leaders and elected officials, served as the core leadership. It took the whole village and area churches using effective community organization skills, business acumen and political savvy to help raise money. The Colored People of Harris County Festival Association was formed and trustees Richard Brock, Richard Allen, Daniel Riley, John Graham, Taylor Burk, Frank Keeland, Johnson Rice, John Sessoms and Tillman Bush purchased this 10-acre site just outside the city limits for $800. The Colored Emancipation Park Association was formed in 1883 and later both groups continued to be active in the management of the park for decades. Emancipation Park was the only space open to African Americans until 1940 and many influential organizations and institutions worked with board management to plan celebrations which included picnics, concerts, carnivals, industrial and agricultural fairs, proms, military drills, dances, sporting events, movies, classes for youth and adults, and community meetings. The parks significance to the Houston African-American community remains as impactful today as it was in 1872. Emancipation Park is a huge legacy of Texas African-American heritage and a gift to humanity for all generations. (2017) Marker is Property of the State of Texas

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Date Logged Log   02/26/2020 TheMarkerFinder visited it