Juneteenth
The Juneteenth Pilgrimage
I started the Juneteenth Pilgrimage in 2022 to collect our family’s Juneteenth stories and to commemorate my ancestors’ vision of freedom conceptualized in the American Dream.
With the help of technology and the benefit of my education, I am continuing the work my grandfather started almost 50 years ago.
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![Miss Juneteenth and Drill Team]()
MLK Parade, Miss Juneteenth 1995
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UH Graduation, 1999
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![Texas State Representative Sheila Jackson Lee and Candace Reese]()
Texas State Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, Juneteenth Pilgrimage Inaugural Event 2022
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![Juneteenth Pilgrimage 2023]()
The Menard House, Juneteenth Pilgrimage 2023
Juneteenth Pilgrimage Tour
Let’s go on a freedom tour to Galveston, Texas, the birthplace of Juneteenth. While there, I will introduce you to my grandfather, Rev. James B. Thomas (the guy in the back behind the podium), and Texas State Representative Al Edwards (the guy in the front next to Miss Juneteenth).
Freshman Texas State Representative Al Edwards is credited with making Juneteenth a state holiday. However, my granddaddy’s dedication to sharing our family’s story is what inspired Edwards to make it his platform in 1979.
While on this tour, you will:
Learn about life in Galveston before June 19, 1865, through the lens of two families. One is enslaved by the Menard family, the founding family of Galveston Island. The other is Black and living free in Galveston pre-emancipation.
Meet Mrs. Menard, who brought my great-great-great grandfather, John, to Galveston from Macon, Georgia, in 1851 after selling his mother to settle a tax debt. She became Michel Menard’s fourth wife, and he became her second husband. After he died, he inherited his estate and did the most shocking thing when the Confederate Army knocked on her door in 1863. She told them they could not have her mansion; instead, she gave it to the Union soldiers as a hospital.
You will meet my Papa John, who changed his last name as an act of power to disassociate his generational bloodline from his slaveholder’s last name. This act of agency speaks to early emancipation empowerment that persists today. You will also meet the Peacheys, who lived free on the island after leaving St. Petersberg, Florida, fully free. The union between these families created a unique story I look forward to sharing.
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The Menard House
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On Our Way to Ashton Villa
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Pilgrimage 2023, Ashton Villa
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Juneteenth 2022 , Ashton Villa
What is your Juneteenth Story
Let’s face it. Juneteenth is a holiday that sparks many emotions. It brings forth jubilance and feelings of excitement and joy, while it also may uncover feelings of negativity stemming from the offshoots of slavery, including inequality, racism, and disunity.
Regardless of your racial background, most of us have work to do in this area. Feelings of anxiety regarding conversations about race and inequality are as American as apple pie. Most of us have them. I wonder, though, if you can see things differently. Are you willing to go back in time to trace your roots to discover your family’s response to emacipation? Whether good or bad, it’s worth looking back.
It’s time to work through whatever limiting beliefs you have about race and find a comfortable place in the world where you are free to be who you are without needing to prove yourself to others.
Juneteenth Pilgrimage Affirmation
I collect and tell stories about Juneteenth to preserve and share my history.
I encourage myself and others to find and tell their Juneteenth stories.
I support myself and others in keeping what is celebratory in their story and releasing what is not.
I am a vessel of change and a source of unity in my community.