Dallas, TX
Juneteenth in Dallas: Residents reflect on history of the holiday in the ‘big city’
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/DGJO5Z7SGJDH7DQ5DQKYUZD7HM.jpg "Juneteenth in Dallas: Residents reflect on history of the holiday in the ‘big city’")
Sheniqua Cummings says her earliest recollections of Juneteenth in Dallas are from when she was a child in the 1970s. Music, dancing and good food — her grandmother’s chicken and dumplings were her favorite.
Some of her most vivid memories are of the family discussions and banter as dinner winded down. Relatives would peruse photo albums and tell stories about family history. She learned elders’ names, what they did for a living and about their successes in life.
“I think it’s important not to forget the struggle and sacrifices of a people who are a generation of survivors,” Cummings said. “They lived through centuries of bondage, so I appreciate their struggle and I want to be part of the remembrance for them. I want to preserve their history; the events, people and the places.”
For many Black Dallas residents, the celebration of freedom and liberty associated with Juneteenth existed well before President Joe Biden signed legislation making it a federal holiday. And some historians, including those in Dallas, say the story of Juneteenth cannot be told without discussing African Americans’ persistence in the fight for their freedom.
Deborah Hopes, president of Remembering Black Dallas, said these oral histories are vital to preserving those memories. Family-taught tales of past generations’ struggles and successes were key to her as a child living in the city during segregation. She hopes as events surrounding Juneteenth grow, the tales that make the holiday so special aren’t forgotten.
“What we, as a people need to start doing is becoming more vocal about the true plight of emancipation and freedom, and truly, educate our children as to what it means to be free,” said Hopes, who helped integrate South Oak Cliff High School. “And what that emancipation truly meant for us.”
Correcting the ‘traditional narrative’
Juneteenth — the day, June 19, 1865, Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston to announce President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years earlier — has been celebrated by the Black community, especially in Texas, for more than a century.
Much of the widespread recognition of Juneteenth is credited to Fort Worth-based civil rights activist Opal Lee, who successfully pushed the federal government to designate the day a national holiday.
Largely missing from the common explanations around emancipation are the stories of those who took freedom into their own hands, said North Texas-based historian and retired university professor W. Marvin Dulaney, who serves as the deputy director of the African American Museum of Dallas.
“The traditional narrative is that they sat on their hands and waited for Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation before they became free,” Dulaney said. “There is no narrative of how they took their freedom.”
Lincoln didn’t have a strong position on ending slavery, Dulaney said, pointing to documented statements the former president made during the Civil War era.
During a Monday presentation at Old City Park, Dulaney gave a fuller history about events preceding Lincoln’s signing the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863, several months after he had issued a preliminary emancipation of slavery.
He explained how the increase in the number of African Americans running away from slave owners led to the Union Army adopting a policy in which former slaves were considered a “contraband” of war. Under the policy, people who escaped slavery in the South were not returned to their former oppressors.
After gaining their freedom, many served in the Union Army and fought to liberate others who were still enslaved.
“It’s one of the greatest stories that most Americans don’t know,” he said.
Looking back at celebrations in Dallas
Local genealogist and historian Donald Payton, whose family history is tied to some of the first African American slaves brought to present-day Dallas in the mid-1840s, said the first Juneteenth celebration in Dallas was in 1866.
During Monday’s event, Payton, 76, gave a tour through Old City Park and Millermore Mansion, where his ancestors were among the slaves brought to the area by the Miller family — the namesake of the historic structure. His family’s ties to Dallas go back 176 years, Payton said.
Payton recalled from his childhood how people would celebrate Juneteenth with parades, cookouts and family gatherings. Part of local celebrations was going to watch the Dallas Black Giants, an all-Black baseball team.
At the games, they would listen to what was then a relatively new genre of music: jazz. His family repeatedly went to Mexia in Limestone County, where “the whole town got up for Juneteenth,” Payton said.
“All of the stores would run Juneteenth specials, all of the places down Deep Ellum would be packed with people who would come in from the country to come to Dallas to celebrate Juneteenth in the big city,” Payton said.
Although some traditions have changed over the years, Payton said Juneteenth remains a day for Black families to remind each other of the strength of previous generations, and for the country to remember the true meaning of freedom.
Hopes, now a minister who spent decades in education, said Dallas has always had Juneteenth celebrations, but the sheer number has increased. There’s also more advertising with the event, but she wants the education of the holiday to be just as prevalent. Monday’s presentations, sponsored by a host of organizations including Remembering Black Dallas, were part of a string of educational and entertaining holiday celebrations this week in the city.
Tammy Derricks, president of the Five Mile Neighborhood Association, said one of her fondest memories of celebrating Juneteenth has a child in Dallas was getting to eat watermelons as a dessert treat after dinner.
As an adult, the holiday inspires her to do work in her community. She is currently trying to get historical designations for multiple parts of the Five Mile neighborhood.
It is important to remember the full history of Juneteenth and the actions of African Americans that led to the end of slavery in the U.S., but Derricks said it is equally important to preserve the history of how that freedom is tied to Black history in Dallas.
“When you come into Five Mile, it’s not just a name, it’s a history,” Derricks said. “When you think about the growth that’s going, all of these new residents who are coming to the area won’t know the history if we don’t recognize it.”
First Shift 🏒
As the Stars pass the quarter point in the 2024-25 season, they definitely have some challenges.
After posting back-to-back trips to the Western Conference Final under coach Pete DeBoer and his staff, the start of this year has been uneven. Dallas last season had the best road record in the NHL and the best in franchise history at 26-10-5. This year, Dallas is 5-6-0 away from home and also has an additional “home” loss in Finland. That’s something that has to be addressed.
But, conversely, they are much better at home, going 8-1-0 at American Airlines Center, adding to the realization that this is a completely different season.
So when you compare the two performances, there is a lot to be addressed. Dallas was second best in points percentage last season at .689 and is eighth best this year at .619. The Stars last season were third in scoring at 3.59 goals per game and are eighth this year at 3.38 goals per game. That said, they are still eighth in both categories.
But it doesn’t feel that way.
“This team I don’t think has had a ton of adversity these last two years, and there’s a little bit coming at us right now,” said Duchene after a 6-2 loss in Chicago on Wednesday. “We’ve just got to figure things out and keep working and pushing.”
The Stars’ biggest issue so far has been a lack of power play success. Dallas is 25th in success rate on the man advantage at 16.7 percent after ranking sixth last year at 24.2 percent. They also have surrendered three shorthanded goals after allowing only four all of last season.
“We have to find the balance,” said Johnston. “You can’t panic, you have to stay focused. You just have to outwork the penalty killers. You have five guys, but you still have to work harder than their four.”
The Stars will get the chance to do that with some great tests coming up. Dallas plays host to Colorado on Friday and Winnipeg on Sunday. The Avalanche are starting to get healthy and are 7-2-0 in their past nine games. Winnipeg is leading the NHL at 18-5-0. After winning the Central Division last season, Dallas currently ranks third.
That said, this is a strange season. Because the league will shut down for the Four Nations Faceoff in February, and because the Stars took a week to go to Finland, the schedule is condensed. As a result, the players and coaches have to adjust. Even so, many good teams have had challenges this year too, and that’s part of the game.
“You look around the league and we’re not the only team going through something like this,” DeBoer said. “You have to dig in and stick together and get your foundation back and play better hockey.”
The New York Giants’ dreadful 2024 season continued with a 27-20 to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving. It was the Giants’ seventh-straight loss this season and their eighth-consecutive defeat at the hands of the Cowboys, dating back to the 2020 season.
The Cowboys benefitted from two Giants turnovers, including a pick-6 by DeMarvion Overshown in the second quarter he returned 23 yards to give the Cowboys a 13-7 lead, the Cowboys at that point never relinquishing the lead.
The other came following a Giants fumble in the second half, which the Cowboys converted into another touchdown to cap a six-play scoring drive.
The game started well, as the Giants held the Cowboys to just a field goal after their first possession. The Giants offense took the field with Drew Lock under center for the injured Tommy DeVito.
Lock was under pressure practically half the game, the Cowboys hitting him 14 times and sacking him six. The Giants also had just as many penalties in this game (13) as they did first downs (17), and their defense once again couldn’t stop the run if they tried, with missed tackles–at least 10 of them in the first half alone–an ongoing problem.
Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle captured his first career 100+ yard rushing game, going for 112 yards and one touchdown against the Giants, who saw three defensive linemen–D.J. Davidson (shoulder), Rakeem Nunez-Roches (stinger) and Dexter Lawrence II (elbow)–leave the game with injuries.
Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush finished 21 of 36 for 195 yards and one touchdown, his leading receiver being tight end Luke Schoonmaker (five catches on six pass targets).
Lock and running back Tyrone Tracy, Jr. scored the Giants’ two touchdowns, TRacy’s coming on a 1-yard run on the Giants’ opening drive to give them their first lead in a game since Week 6, and then Lock scoring a fourth-quarter garbage time touchdown on an 8-yard rush to make it 27-20 with 2:18 left.
The Giants got the rest of their scoring from kicker Graham Gano, who hit field goals of 46 and 47 yards.
Giants receiver Malik Nabers caught 13 pass targets for 69 yards, but he also dropped two balls. Rookie tight end Theo Johnson displayed toughness on a few of his receptions, hauling in five catches for 54 yards.
This is the Giants’ ninth time in the last 11 seasons that they’ve lost at least ten games. This loss eliminated them from playoff contention and currently slots them into the No.1 pick in April’s draft.
The Giants will have 10 days to prepare for their next matchup, a home meeting with the New Orleans Saints. They’re now the only team in the NFL to win a game at home still not this season, and they currently have the league’s longest losing streak.
Tom Brady Criticizes Daniel Jones for How He Handled Final Days with Giants . dark. Next. Brady Criticizes Daniel Jones
New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito is expected to be out for Thursday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys because of his forearm injury and Drew Lock is expected to start in his place, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jordan Raanan.
DeVito is listed as questionable for the Thanksgiving Day game, but a source told ESPN on Wednesday that DeVito was considered a long shot to play.
He did not travel with the team to Dallas on Wednesday as he was undergoing further evaluation, the Giants said. The team, however, said it expected him to travel to Dallas later Wednesday.
DeVito took several big hits in Sunday’s 30-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was making his first start of the season after the Giants released former starter Daniel Jones late last week.
The Giants turn to Lock after bypassing him following the benching of Jones for DeVito. Lock spent the first 10 weeks as the backup, with DeVito as the third string/emergency quarterback.
Lock has a short week and no real practices to get ready for the matchup of NFC East rivals. He also will be playing behind an offensive line without its starting tackles. Andrew Thomas (foot) is on injured reserve and Jermaine Eluemunor (quad) was ruled out Wednesday.
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