KPRC 2 anchors, reporters help beautify Emancipation Park ahead of Juneteenth

HOUSTON – Several KPRC 2 anchors, reporters and employees rolled up their sleeves Tuesday morning to help beautify Emancipation Park.

The Juneteenth Beautification Volunteer Day, which was hosted by the Emancipation Park Conservancy, was held at the park from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Several KPRC 2 employees helped de-litter the grounds, wash off signs, wipe down trash cans and recycle bins, de-litter flower beds, pull weeds and return decorative rocks.

Emancipation Park was founded in 1872 by four former slaves known as Reverend Jack Yates, Richard Allen, Richard Brock, and Reverend Elias Dibble.

These men, along with members of the Third and Fourth Ward communities, gathered about $800 to purchase 10 acres of land as a place to commemorate the anniversary of their emancipation on June 19, 1865.

This date is now known as Juneteenth, and the celebration still takes place in the park annually today.

The purchase represented not only their freedom, but property ownership, unity, and cooperative economics amongst African Americans.

Decades later in October 2013, Emancipation Park broke ground on a $33.5 million renovation.

The project was completed four years later in June 2017, and the dedication took place in conjunction with Emancipation Park’s 145th Annual Juneteenth Celebration.