HOUSTON – Fort Bend County Judge KP George recognized Juneteenth on Friday with an inaugural county-level celebration at the Fort Bend County Historic Courthouse in Richmond, Texas.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, as the date that enslaved African Americans in Texas finally learned of their emancipation, after the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston.
George celebrated this time of remembrance with invited guests which include local, state, and federal elected officials, the presentation of posthumous proclamations to Marilyn Moore, widow of activist and historian Reginald Moore, and David Edwards, brother of former Texas House Rep. Al Edwards, who introduced H.B. 1016 establishing Juneteenth as a state holiday in Texas.
Additionally, Fort Bend County resident and “The Voice” contestant John Holiday sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and Bush High School student Rani Jones performed a spoken word reading. Jones is the first place winner of the Fort Bend County Diversity Over Division Spoken Word Contest.