1865 – End of Slavery Enforced in Texas
On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with 2,000 federal troops to enforce the end of slavery. Standing on the balcony of Ashton Villa, he read General Order No. 3, announcing that all enslaved people in Texas were free, in accordance with the Emancipation Proclamation issued two years earlier.
Though the Civil War had ended in April, news and enforcement were slow to reach Texas. Granger’s proclamation marked the first time many enslaved Texans heard they were free. The day became known as Juneteenth and has since been celebrated as a milestone of Black liberation.
1924 – Raymond Merriwether Is Born
Raymond Merriwether, born June 19, 1924, in Taylor, Texas, became a pioneering Black architect, engineer, and newspaper owner in Seattle. After serving briefly in the Navy and graduating from Howard University, he moved to Seattle in 1947 and became the city’s third Black engineer. By 25, he had built multiple apartment buildings and, in 1952, purchased The Pacific Leader to advocate for civil rights.
Merriwether later co-founded Peck & Merriwether, designing hundreds of housing and healthcare units. He mentored young Black entrepreneurs and founded his own firm in 1971. Merriwether retired to travel and died in 2011 at age 87.
1932 – Solomon Tshekiso Plaatje Passes Away
Sol Plaatje, born October 9, 1876, was a pioneering South African intellectual, writer, and the first Secretary-General of the African National Congress (ANC). In 1914, he traveled to London to protest the 1913 Land Act, writing Native Life in South Africa and other influential works. Plaatje translated Shakespeare into Setswana and published Mhudi, the first novel by a Black South African. He died on June 19, 1932, leaving a legacy of political courage and cultural achievement.
