A Look Back at Early Juneteenth Celebrations in Austin

Funmi Ogunro • May 30, 2025

A Look Back at Early Juneteenth Celebrations in Austin

Why We Celebrate: A Look Back at Early Juneteenth Celebrations in Austin

Juneteenth is more than just a holiday—it’s a day of memory, resistance, and celebration. While most people know it marks the day in 1865 when enslaved Black Texans were officially informed of their freedom, many don’t realize just how deep Austin’s Juneteenth roots run. From the very first local celebrations to the parades and music festivals of today, Juneteenth has always been about community and cultural survival.

The First Juneteenth Celebration in Austin

The earliest known Juneteenth celebration in Austin took place in 1867, just two years after emancipation was declared. Organized with the help of the Freedmen’s Bureau, the event marked a powerful moment of freedom for newly emancipated Black Texans. Juneteenth gatherings were held at Wheeler’s Grove—now known as Eastwoods Park—near the University of Texas campus. 

Eastwoods Park: A Legacy of Celebration

By the early 1900s, Austin’s Black community had made Eastwoods Park (near what is now the UT campus at 3001 Harris Park Ave) a central site for Juneteenth celebrations. The park came alive each June 19th with parades, reenactments, musical performances, and vibrant displays of joy.

Take a look at these remarkable photographs taken by Grace Murray Stephenson during the Juneteenth celebration in 1900:

Juneteenth Moves to Austin’s East Side in the Early 1900s

Thomas White and other members of the organization that sought to purchase Emancipation Park. - Credit Austin History Center, PICA 20862

Later, Thomas J. White, a formerly enslaved man, advocated for the celebration to be held on land owned by Black residents. In 1905, he founded the Emancipation Park Association, which purchased five acres near Rosewood Avenue and Chicon Street in 1907. Juneteenth celebrations soon took place on that land. However, in 1938, the city seized the property through eminent domain, and the festivities were relocated to Rosewood Park—where Juneteenth continues to be celebrated today.

attend an austin juneteenth event

Juneteenth is a space of remembrance and resistance. In the face of laws that tried to erase Black history, early celebrations were acts of defiance. They were ways to pass down stories, reclaim narratives, and affirm joy as a right—not a privilege.


Today, we continue this legacy by gathering, educating, and celebrating. Events like the ones hosted through Outreach Productions are part of that long tradition. We honor the past by showing up for the present and by fighting for a future where Black communities in Austin are remembered, respected, and resourced.


As we reflect on the beauty and strength of early Juneteenth celebrations in Austin, let’s commit to keeping this energy alive year after year.


✊🏾 Call to Action


Attend one of the many Juneteenth Celebrations in a Austin!


June 7, 2025 | 6-10pm - Freedom + Juneteenth at Pease Park | Presented by Pease Park Conservancy, Art is Cool, Outreach Productions, Third Spaces

June 14, 2025 | 11am-4pm - Juneteenth at the Carver Library | Presented by Outreach Productions
June 14, 2025 | 3pm-10pm - Stay Black & Live Juneteenth Festival | Presented by the Carver Museum ATX

June 19, 2025   10am-9pm - Central Texas Juneteenth Parade & Festival | Presented by Greater East Austin Youth Association (GEAYA)

June 19, 2025 | 10am - Juneteenth 2025 Bike Ride + Block Party | Presented by Black History Bike Ride



Freedom isn’t just something we remember. It’s something we fight for—together.

✅ Explore our site and learn about Austin’s Black Freedom Communities

✅ Share these powerful images and stories with your family and friends



Sources


[Wikimedia Commons: Emancipation Day Band Photo](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emancipation_Day_Celebration_band,_June_19,_1900.png)

[Wikimedia Commons: Elderly Group on Juneteenth](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emancipation_Day_celebration_-_1900-06-19.jpg)

[KUT: A Look Back at the 150-Year History of Juneteenth in Texas](https://www.kut.org/post/look-back-150-year-history-juneteenth-texas)

[Texas State Historical Association: Juneteenth Article](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/juneteenth)

[Austin History Center – Juneteenth in Austin Records (archival research)]

Juneteenth Central Texas - https://www.juneteenthcentraltexas.com/austin-juneteenth

Black Churches

By Funmi Ogunro • May 5, 2025
The Black church has long been a cornerstone of Austin's freedom communities—spaces where formerly enslaved people and their descendants built lives rooted in faith, education, economic self-sufficiency, and political empowerment. From the late 19th century through the 1930s, these numerous churches were born throughout Austin. 
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