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“The African American Presence in Nineteenth Century Texas” exhibit is on display at the George Washington Carver Museum.<\/p>\n
JAY JANNER\/AMERICAN-STATESMAN<\/p>\n
As Austin prepares to celebrate Juneteenth<\/a> Friday, the George Washington Carver Museum<\/a>, Cultural and Genealogy Center invites visitors to consider both the weight of history and the meaning of freedom still unfolding today.<\/p>\n Two exhibitions separated by only a few steps span generations. One traces the history of slavery, freedom and Black life in Texas following emancipation. The other reflects on legacies left behind. Both offer a meditation on Juneteenth as a living, breathing tradition.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Read on for more details and other ways to mark the holiday in the Austin area.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tracing Black life in 19th century Texas<\/p>\n “The African-American Presence in 19th Century Texas” is split into five different sections: the African Impulse in African American Culture, Slavery in Texas, African Americans in Texas Politics, Freedmen\u2019s Communities of Texas and Juneteenth.<\/p>\n Ana Gutierrez \/ Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n At one end of the museum, “The African-American Presence in 19th Century Texas” confronts visitors with artifacts of enslavement and survival. Shackles sit behind glass. A receipt documents the sale of a 17-year-old enslaved person. Nearby hangs an 1858 portrait of a nude Black boy, reportedly commissioned by his white owner to record his physical condition before a slave auction.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The exhibition traces the history of slavery in Texas and the long road to emancipation. Visitors learn how many Black Texans remained enslaved for two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed on January 1, 1863. News of their liberation reached them when Union troops arrived in Galveston on June 19, 1865.<\/p>\n The gallery also tells the story of what came after.<\/p>\n Head of the Clarksville Community Development Corporation, Felecia Miller, explains people pictured in photographs on the walls of the Haskell House in Clarksville, Jan. 31, 2026. The house is the oldest documented residence in the historic district and one of the only remaining original structures from the area- one of Austin\u2019s original Black neighborhoods.<\/p>\n Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n In Austin, newly freed Black Texans established communities such as Clarksville<\/a>, founded by Charles Clark, who changed his name from Charles Griffin after emancipation<\/a>. Through photographs, documents and personal histories, the exhibition explores the freedoms that followed: the ability to worship, own land, choose one’s name and participate in government.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n It remembers the first Black elected officials who represented their communities during Reconstruction, facing hostility and racism while serving in predominantly white political institutions.<\/p>\n The artifacts illustrate a history that is closer than it may seem. The exhibition honors those who imagined a future they might never live to see.<\/p>\n A contemporary reflection on Juneteenth<\/p>\n Hakeem Adewumi’s solo exhibition “Seeing Further” is on display at the Carver Museum through Oct. 10, 2026.<\/p>\n Ana Gutierrez \/ Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n Just steps away, artist Hakeem Adewumi’s solo exhibition, “Seeing Further,” explores many of the same themes through a contemporary lens. The exhibition is on display through Oct. 10.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Through photography and found objects salvaged from his Texas homestead,\u00a0Adewumi examines Black lineage, memory and liberation.\u00a0<\/p>\n In “Insurrection Resurrection, and the Salvaged Land,” farming tools, family photographs and household objects occupy a darkened gallery space, transforming everyday artifacts into markers of survival and inheritance.<\/p>\n In a neighboring room, text spread across red walls describes\u00a0Juneteenth as “a lived story of adaptation” and a tradition that “rejects decorum and invites us to live with indescribable vividness.”<\/p>\n Curatorial advisor Rachel\u00a0E. Winston writes that Juneteenth is a “Black Southern tradition informed by Texas mythology, African spirituality, and a worldview that becomes supernatural.”<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Jonathan “Chaka” Mahone of Riders Against the Storm has been pushing for a portion of the Austin Live Music Fund to be allocated toward racial equity goals.<\/p>\n RICARDO B. BRAZZIELL\/AMERICAN-STATESMAN FILE<\/p>\n For Jonathan \u201cChaka\u201d Mahone, freedom remains an ongoing process rather than a finished achievement.\u00a0<\/p>\n “There are still forces that we encounter on an everyday basis that keep us in a certain reality,” he said in the museum’s video presentation. \u00a0“Freedom is actually a mind state.”<\/p>\n Freedom as a living practice<\/p>\n Morris Walker walks Rosewood avenue carrying a pan-African flag during the Central Texas Juneteenth Park Festival at Rosewood Neighborhood Park on Thursday, June 19, 2025 in Austin.<\/p>\n Aaron E. Martinez \/ American Statesman<\/p>\n At the other end of the Carver Museum, another expression of freedom awaits.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The sounds of children singing, dancing and playing drift through the museum halls. History gives way to the present tense. The stories preserved in photographs, documents and artifacts meet the lives still being lived beyond the gallery walls.<\/p>\n The Austin E.M.M.A. (Educate, Motivate, Minorities & Achieve) Lady Royals Dance Team performs during the parade.<\/p>\n Terry Hagerty\/Special to American-Statesman<\/p>\n “We are a resilient, beautiful people,” Faith Weaver, education coordinator at the Carver, said in the film. “There’s that quote about being our ancestors’ wildest dreams. I also feel like we’re the answer to their prayers.”<\/p>\n Inside the Carver Museum,\u00a0Juneteenth is both remembrance and celebration.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Free Juneteenth events in Austin<\/p>\n Friday:\u00a0Central Texas Juneteenth<\/a> at Rosewood Park. Parade, live entertainment, food vendors, community resources and cultural activities. Nonprofit Future Front TX is hosting a parade watch party with free water, Topo Chico and chairs at its 1900 E 12th St. outpost from 10 a.m. to noon. Festival is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n Friday: Together Vol. 6, a Juneteenth boogie at Central Machine Works.<\/a> KUTX celebrates Black sounds with live performances from AllisianaMich\u00e9, StormShadow, and OGJINXD. Hosted by Queen Deelah and Joe B. 7 to 11 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n Saturday:\u00a0Juneteenth at the Carver Library.<\/a> Music, puppet show, capoeira, African dance, kids’ activities and refreshments. 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Saturday: Sistas Walk and Talk Juneteenth edition at Butler Hike and Bike Trail.<\/a> Meet at Capital City Athletics for a 3-mile stroll around Lady Bird Lake. 7:45 a.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n Saturday: ‘Heavenly Beings’ art opening at African American Cultural and Heritage Facility. <\/a>Visual art, film, music, performance and spoken word. Food trucks on-site. 3 to 7:30 p.m.<\/p>\n Sunday: Neill-Cochran House Museum Juneteenth Celebration 2026.<\/a> Guided tour of the museum’s slave quarters and grounds, family-friendly activities, live music and a free barbecue lunch from James Beard-recognized chef Damian Brockway. Noon to 4 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n More free area Juneteenth events<\/p>\n Friday: Rock the Block Pflugerville Juneteenth Celebration.<\/a>\u00a0Music from funk and soul powerhouse HoneyMade at 100 E. Main St. 8 to 10 p.m.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Friday: Manor Juneteenth Celebration at Timmerman Park<\/a>. Games, arts and crafts, live music and food. noon to 7 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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