From Posters to Murals: Commemorating Juneteenth

Galveston's Pictorial Legacy of Juneteenth

In this episode of Unboxing History, hosts Christine Hopkins and Jodi Wright-Gidley explore a World War I poster commemorating the Emancipation Proclamation. They are joined by historian Sam Collins III, who discusses the historical significance of the poster, which links the Civil War to World War I, and highlights key figures like Abraham Lincoln, Paul Dunnbar, and Frederick Douglas. Collins also elaborates on the significance of General Order No. 3 and the Absolute Equality mural in Galveston. The mural, an outdoor classroom, and other initiatives such as the Nia Cultural Center aim to educate and inspire visitors about the history of Juneteenth in Galveston, the birthplace of this pivotal celebration of freedom.

Special thanks to the Galveston Chamber of Commerce for their ongoing support and Shawn Schoellkopf for creating and performing the theme music.

Thank you for listening to Unboxing History, presented by the Galveston County Museum.
For more information on the Museum, visit our website.

History of the Galveston County Museum
The Galveston County Museum was formed in 1976. It was located on Market Street for many years. After Hurricane Ike damaged the HVAC and electrical systems in 2008, the unharmed artifacts were moved. Now, the museum is located in the Galveston County courthouse building at 722 Moody/21st Street in Galveston.

​Galveston County Museum is a joint project of the Galveston County Commissioners Court and Galveston County History, Inc. The museum cares for a collection of 20,000 artifacts and archives. We also maintain the Historical Commission's library. If you are interested in research or donating an artifact related to Galveston County history, please call 409.766.2340.

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Chapters

• 0:21 Introduction to Unboxing History
• 0:30 Unveiling the World War I Poster
• 1:06 Historical Figures and Symbolism in the Poster
• 2:09 Government Propaganda and African American Patriotism
• 3:25 Interview with Sam Collins III
• 5:42 The Absolute Equality Mural Project
• 8:27 The Historical Significance of 22nd and Strand
• 11:10 The Rich History of Galveston
• 13:56 Conclusion and Invitation to Galveston

Transcript

Episode 15

[00:00:00] 

Christine Hopkins: Welcome to Unboxing History, where we take a deep dive into the collection and exhibits of the Galveston County Museum. I'm Christine Hopkins.

Jodi Wright-Gidley: And I'm Jodi Wright Gidley. Each episode we unbox an artifact and talk about the story behind it. 

Christine Hopkins: I know in today's episode we are really going to discuss something very meaningful, uh, related to freedom.

So what are we in boxing today? 

Jodi Wright-Gidley: Yes. So we are unveiling this. 

Christine Hopkins: Yeah. Unveiling. 

Jodi Wright-Gidley: World War I poster. Um, so we're taking a closer look at Galveston's role in emancipation and what freedom has meant over time. So this World War I poster was made in 1919. Um, it's commemorates the Emancipation Proclamation and it links the Civil War to World War I.

And so even after slavery had been gone and officially ended [00:01:00] for years. African Americans were still fighting for their freedom and full recognition and citizenship. 

Christine Hopkins: So for people that are listening to this, let's go through and describe what's in this poster. 

Jodi Wright-Gidley: There are several important figures from history on the poster. Abraham Lincoln is prominently featured. He's holding a manuscript that quotes the Declaration of Independence. It says, all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these are life liberty.

And the pursuit of happiness. The poster this is dated 1919 also includes Paul Dunbar, a well-known black writer that also has a picture of Frederick Douglas, an abolitionist who helped end slavery. Lieutenant Colonel Franklin, a Dennison, who was a native of San Antonio, was the first black soldier to rise above the rank of Colonel.

Lieutenant Colonel Otis B. Duncan, served as an officer with [00:02:00] Dennison. There is also a quote from Booker T. Washington. Other images include black soldiers from World War I and school children. This is a government produced propaganda poster. There were about 700 different posters produced by the governmental agency called the Committee on Public Information.

The main goal was to sell war bonds, encourage people to produce and conserve food for soldiers and support troops in the field. Some posters were made with messaging appealing to specific groups of Americans, such as African Americans.

They were designed to tap into patriotism and racial pride at a time. And black servicemen were being discriminated against. African Americans hoped that their service on the battlefield would translate into a stronger case for full recognition as valuable American citizens at home.

Christine Hopkins: I love the quote, um, that's on this poster. It says, look forward. There is room enough. Under Eagle's wings for great achievements by both. And you see it's a woman, with two boys, two young [00:03:00] boys under her arms, one black and one white. And she looks like a version of a Lady Liberty.

So Jodi, we're speaking with someone really special today who's an expert in the Emancipation Proclamation, who had a role with the Absolute Equality mural and really is just a, an expert on Galveston and Galveston County history. So who are we speaking? Speaking to today? 

Jodi Wright-Gidley: Yes.

Today we have the honor of having special guest, Sam Collins III, a local historian, activist, and preservationist. 

Christine Hopkins: I look forward to it. 

Jodi Wright-Gidley: To help us put all of this in perspective, we're honored to have a very special guest today, local historian, activist, and preservationist, Sam Collins II. He was instrumental in creating the absolute equality mural that now stands on the site where General Granger issued general order number three on June 19th, 1865.

So Sam, let's start with the artifact that we just unboxed from our collection.

A World War era poster that references the Emancipation Proclamation. [00:04:00] When you first see this artifact, what did you think? 

Samuel Collins: Well, you know, the, uh, thing about the power of primary sources. When you go to an artifact like this and you see the September 22nd, 1862 date, it lets you know that the story began before January 1st, 1863, and it helps you to dive deeper into.

The history, um, you know, we often talk about the Emancipation Proclamation going into effect that January, but the work to get it written and established started long before January 1st. Uh, and the fact that Lincoln did not have authority in the southern states to actually free enslaved people. So the, the Confederate states didn't recognize, uh, the Emancipation Proclamation, and it wasn't until the soldiers arrived to enforce, um, [00:05:00] that proclamation that the enslaved people were then free. 

Jodi Wright-Gidley: Well, what do you, what is something about General Order No. 3 that usually gets overlooked or misunderstood? 

Samuel Collins: Well, I think the duality of the, uh, general order in the sense that at the end of the first sentence it says, all slaves are free. The beginning of the second sentence says this involves an absolute equality, but later it tells the, uh, enslaved people that they are advised to remain at their present homes.

And to work for wages. So they're free ish. 

Jodi Wright-Gidley: Yeah. So let's fast forward to today. You are a major force behind getting the Absolute Equality more mural here in Galveston. Can you tell us about that project and your inspiration for it? 

Samuel Collins: Yeah. The, uh, project started because of, uh, actually another mural that went up on, on the side of a grocery store that was Planet of the Apes.

And, uh, several community members had [00:06:00] complained about that mural, uh, being done in a primarily African American neighborhood. It, had a lot of violence in it, uh, because of the Planet of the Apes narrative of the apes taking over the city. There was fire and and violence and we just thought that wasn't good imagery.

Uh, so when I talked to, uh, Sheridan Lorenz, who has been a, a great supporter of the work, uh, about that mural and that we needed to, uh, do something. Bigger and more positive in Galveston. Uh, she jumped on board immediately said, let's do it. Uh, she seed funded the project. Uh, the Absolute Equality mural is on the side of a, uh, Mitchell historic property.

Uh, so we had to get permission for that, uh, to do the mural first off. So she helped with that. She seed funded the project. And then, uh, we were off and running to tell a more positive story and [00:07:00] narrative of our shared history. You know, I often use the analogy of a green salad. The stories we hear all the time are the lettuce and tomato stories of founding fathers and early settlers, but this history salad includes croutons, bacon bits, olive pickles.

So what we tried to do with the mural is to expand the narrative of Galveston history, Texas history and world history. So we have a Texas event that became a national holiday and a worldwide celebration of freedom. So when you look at the mural, one of the things that sticks out, uh, immediately is that it begins in 1528 with Estevanico .

Or, Esteban, um, as the first non-native enslaved person to arrive here. So Galveston is coming up on almost 500 years. In 2028, it'll be a 500 year anniversary. So almost a hundred years before the 1619 date, we have this connection [00:08:00] to enslavement in this territory, and then you move through the mural. Um.

Through Juneteenth to the present. Uh, and it's just an amazing opportunity to tell a more complete story about shared history.

Jodi Wright-Gidley: So Sam, since that mural has been in place, how has that corner on Strand transformed 

Samuel Collins: That is a great question. Uh. You know, the Southwest corner of 22nd and Strand is one of the most historic corners, not only in Galveston and Texas, but in American history because this is where the Juneteenth story began. This is where General Order No. 3 was issued and then spread throughout the city and state.

So when you think about, uh, the 2200 block of Strand where human beings were once auctioned, it is now a place that has been transformed into an outdoor classroom. Maya Angelou has a quote, "History despite its [00:09:00] wrenching pain. It cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage may not be lived again." So as we teach this history, as we reflect on this history, the goal is to make sure we never repeat the mistakes of the past, and that we create new opportunities at this location.

So the mural has augmented reality in it, in which individuals can use their smartphones to scan the mural and videos will. Pop up to teach 'em the history. One of the other things that were, was also birthed out of this project is the Nia Cultural Center, Juneteenth Legacy Project Headquarters, which is in Suite 1 0 1.

Uh, it's not only an art gallery that showcases the talent of. Artists, uh, locally and regionally, but it's also a place where there's programming to educate, inspire and enlighten individuals that visit this [00:10:00] space. The Nia Cultural Center is run by executive director. Uh, Sue Johnson. She's been on the island over 30 years, uh, because again, of the generous, uh, support of Ms. Lorenz to, uh, be in that space. Uh, not only seed funding the, um, project, but also, uh, continuously, uh, supporting, uh, Nia so that they could, uh, rent that location and be there to share this history at what is considered ground zero of where the Juneteenth Narrative began, you know, for many years. Uh, we went to Ashton Villa, which is still very central to the story because individuals were gathered in a central location, uh, and they, they were shared. The news was shared with those enslaved people, and there have been many celebrations over 40 years of celebrations at Ashton Villa. on the artifact, you [00:11:00] see the contributions of black soldiers during World War I. Uh, and also, uh, it lets you know that they were not sitting by idly, that they too were fighting for American freedom. Um, and if you look back at the history from the American Revolution, uh, if you think of Crispus Attucks, uh, all the major, uh, wars..

Uh, African Americans or black soldiers have been involved in some format, uh, to fight for this idea of freedom. And as we enter another year of, uh, celebration from 2025 to 2026, the 160th anniversary of Juneteenth is almost a kickoff to the 250th anniversary of America. So Juneteenth celebrates the evolution of our country to a more perfect union.

So when individuals come to the outdoor classroom on 22nd and Strand, [00:12:00] it is our hope that we inspire them to want to learn more. So they can take the Freedom Walk, they can move through the city, uh, uh, to the five different locations associated with the Juneteenth story. Uh, they could visit the historic structures, uh, they could come to the Galveston County Museum and learn the history of, uh, Galveston County.

Uh, they could go to Ashton Villa and Still We Rise and see the exhibition. Uh. On Juneteenth, uh, they could visit the historic Reedy Chapel Church where notice was posted on the door, and they have an annual Emancipation March every year. This church was established in 1848, so 17 years before Juneteenth even happened in the first black Methodist church in the state, so this is a rich history and hopefully something that I've, I've said or shared today. Has helped to flavor up that history [00:13:00] and individuals will enjoy this Galveston history salad.

Jodi Wright-Gidley: Yes, I hope that people will come to Galveston and participate and learn in some of the Juneteenth activities. So Sam, thank you for joining us today and for all of your vital work in. You're doing to help us understand Galveston's place in this very important story. 

Samuel Collins: Well, I appreciate the invitation, and I'll leave you with this.

Individuals can read about Juneteenth, they can watch documentaries on Juneteenth, but it's like reading about swimming or watching a film on swimming. At some point you have to get in the water. So we invite individuals to come to Galveston, Texas, immerse yourself in the Juneteenth water and Juneteenth narrative.

Visit the Galveston County Museum, visit Ashton Villa, visit the Nia Cultural Center, and most of all, visit Galveston, Texas, the birthplace of Juneteenth. 

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