Edinburg celebrates Juneteenth with community education

By Maria Ruiz

Edinburg, Texas — On Saturday, June 15th, Edinburg celebrated its annual Juneteenth Jubilee, honoring past and future freedom for Black Texans, with guests highlighting local stories that will make their way to the classroom.

“It’s important that we honor the resilience, courage, and strength of those who fought for freedom and equality against all odds,” said Edinburg Mayor Ramiro Garza. “Today, as we commemorate Juneteenth, let us celebrate the progress that has been made, acknowledge the work that has to be done, and honor the legacy of those who paved the way for a brighter future.”

Edinburg’s celebration of Black freedom began as a small, personal gathering of citizens who wanted to restore and preserve the cemetery known as Restlawn, located at the back of Hillcrest Memorial.

Thirty-one years later, the celebration of Juneteenth has grown into a city festival filled with historical and cultural enrichment, with guest speakers emphasizing the Valley’s influence for emancipation.

“Edinburg has always got together and recognized Juneteenth,” said former educator and Juneteenth Jubilee Committee Chair of Programming Sharon Smith. “It’s a national holiday now, and everybody needs to know the history behind Juneteenth.”

Adding to the local curriculum

Roseann Bacha-Garza, a University of Texas Rio Grande Valley lecturer and Program Manager of the Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools (CHAPS), was the first of the guests to speak inside the Edinburg Municipal Auditorium. Garza informed attendees of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom and the UTRGV Civil War Trail Project’s addition of the Jackson Ranch and Martin Jackson Cemetery as locations of underground railroad activity.

“The Jackson Ranch, founded in 1856, along the U.S.-Mexico Border, was a known location of underground railroad-like traffic as well as a destination site for settlement for self-emancipators,” said Bacha-Garza, reading from a press release.

Not only was the property marked along the Civil War Trail project, but it will be part of the learning curriculum for 32 school districts across the Rio Grande Valley under the Region One Education Service Center.

The K-12 TEKS-aligned lesson plan, co-authored by Edinburg CISD instructor Roberto De La Rosa and Donna ISD instructor Juan Carmona, details how the Jackson family helped slaves cross the river to seek freedom in Mexico.

Teachers then get training and grants from the CHAPS program members to develop ‘traveling trunks’ for K-12 education.

“They develop these TEKS-aligned lesson plans so they can take the trunk into the classroom and implement these lesson plans directly into their classrooms,” said Bacha-Garza. “This lesson plan book is now being updated to include these two that have to do with the Jackson Ranch [and] church and their role in assisting freedom seekers across the river.”

The Jacksons are only a piece of the puzzle added to the Valley’s celebration of black liberation.

For Edinburg residents looking for local examples of emancipation, two individuals who were born into slavery and found freedom at the tip of the U.S.-Mexico border lay to rest at Restlawn Cemetery.

Stories like these, to be updated by the summer for the fall semester, are not one-time symbols of hope but proof of a brighter future for Black Valleyites.

“It’s important that they [students] know prior to them arriving here, other African American people arrived and settled around the border and are embedded into the fabric of our community,” said Bacha-Garza. “They were most likely heading to Mexico…but then they decided to buy land on this side of the river and set up their community.”

As word spread of the Jackson family settlement, African-Americans would pass through South Texas or even decide to stay themselves.

Black educators in the RGV

Although only making up one percent of the predominantly Mexican-American region, Black residents shape the Valley by serving in the armed forces and working as nurses, doctors, businessmen, and educators.

For Smith, seeing black instructors teach in the Valley inspired her and made her feel welcome.

“When I first moved down here, there were a lot of elderly Black women that were teachers,” said Smith, who moved to the RGV in 1980 to teach in La Joya. “When I moved down here, and I saw a lot of African American teachers, how they were accepted down here – it made me feel welcome.”

Smith, now retired, would take time to instruct her students on the importance of Black History Month and Juneteenth, making interactive assignments and learning tools.

“It’s nice to embrace different cultures,” said Smith. “It’s good to celebrate all cultures. You find out a lot about people, and you find out that there’s similarities.”

She continued. “It makes a better world. We can love each other more when we understand each other’s cultures.”

Loretha Laws, a Houston ISD educator, began teaching at ECISD in 2006, serving as an instructor for nearly two decades.

As an educator, Laws said that educating the community about Juneteenth creates unity.

“Educating the community about what part people in the area played helps with inclusivity,” she said. “Having people be aware of what is going on helps give unity and coexistence.”

Knowing that the classrooms she taught would have access to local knowledge surrounding the Civil War fills her with pride.

“The more we know, the better we can be. I’m very proud to know that’s being included and worked on,” Laws said.

At the event, Laws hosted Juneteenth trivia questions for attendees of all ages to gain historical knowledge.

She even spoke to youth on the Juneteenth flag, telling attendees that the starburst surrounding the center star stood for future freedom – and that they had the power to make change.

Citizens of all age groups participated in Laws’ trivia, shouting answers and guesses to questions from the crowd.

“At the end of the night, I had young and old — all age groups – come to me at the end throughout the night and tell me that they learned something from the events that day, from my speech,” said Laws. “They did not know this was happening in the city of Edinburg and they were happy to be a part of it.”

Later that evening, Laws and the Juneteenth Jubilee joined Edinburg Mayor Garza to present the proclamation of the Juneteenth Jubilee’s 31st celebration at the Edinburg Food Truck Park. Gospel music, jazz, and other local music provided entertainment until the festival’s end.

“I want to start by thanking the Juneteenth Committee for doing this each and every…year,” said Mayor Garza. “Thank you so much for allowing our community to come together because that’s what this event is about. And this particular case – celebrating Juneteenth.”