How important is it that people actually come here to Galveston instead of foot on this ground?

Well, you know, I tell people often that they could read about Juneteenth, they could watch

a documentary about Juneteenth.

It's like reading about swimming, or watching a film on swimming.

At some point you have to get into water.

So you are here in the Juneteenth water.

You can't visit those sites anywhere but Galveston where the Juneteenth story began.

Galveston is an island city in the Gulf of Mexico, just off the coast of Texas, an hour south of Houston.

The island is known for its beautiful beaches and as the site of one of the most important moments in American history.

It was here on June 19, 1865 that the 250,000 enslaved people in Texas were finally freed by General Order number three.

Declaring, quote, the people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a proclamation from the executive of the United States, all slaves are free.

President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years earlier.

But with the civil war still raging, freedom came slowly to black people living in Confederate states.

After the South surrendered, the Union Army filled with black soldiers marched west, enforcing the proclamation.

Texas was the last stop.

So Granger got off the ship at the Docks, came downtown into the commercial district and issues General Order number three.

I'm on a Freedom Walk tour with Sam Collins, the president of Galveston's Juneteenth Legacy Project.

Our first stop is this corner where everything began.

This is one of the most historic corners in Galveston. The southwest corner of 22nd strand is where Major General Gordon Granger set up his Union headquarters on June 19, 1865.

Sam has made it his mission to make sure everyone who comes to Galveston knows the story behind June 19.

The largest enslaved lived here in Galveston and this is why Galveston was so important for the Union soldiers to come in and make the announcement here.

Because New Spread from Galveston throughout the rest of the state of Texas, so Galveston some considered the New Orleans of Texas.

...