Galveston Symphony concert celebrates when 250,000 enslaved Texans were finally freed

160 years ago, Union General Gordon Granger delivered an announcement in Galveston that changed American history.

“The people are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free,” it began.

Granger’s news officially freed around 250,000 people who were still enslaved in Texas after the Civil War and the day commemorating this event is known as Juneteenth.

It’s been celebrated in the Lone Star State every year since. 

In 1979, the Texas Legislature made the date a state holiday and in recent years, Juneteenth has grown in recognition because in 2021, it took on a national profile.

“I’m especially pleased that we showed the nation that we can come together as Democrats and Republicans to commemorate this day,” said former President Joe Biden before signing the legislation making it a national holiday into law.

Juneteenth celebrates a turning point in the nation’s history, but freedom wasn’t instantaneous and slavery didn’t disappear on one specific day.

The Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on Jan. 1, 1863, the Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, and the constitutional amendment abolishing slavery was adopted on December 6, 1865.

However, none of those dates are a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery. Juneteenth is. 

It started on the Texas Gulf Coast but has since been adopted by the entire nation.

Voices Unbound: a concert for emancipation

For the past three years, the Galveston Symphony Orchestra has ended its season with a concert celebrating liberation on the Texas Gulf Coast.

“There’s much history and cultural significance on this tiny island,” said executive director Christina LeBlanc, who works as a high school orchestra director and plays violin with the Galveston Symphony.

All of the music played at this year’s event was written by Black composers, like the song “Galveston Survives,” a full ensemble arrangement by Izola Collins that’s about eight minutes long.

“So much of what her piece of music reflects is Galveston overcoming,” explained Izola Collin’s daughter, June Collins Pulliam.

Collins Pulliam’s family roots in Galveston trace back to 1865.

“My great-great grandparents were enslaved right across Galveston Bay,” said Collins Pulliam. “They came here when they were emancipated for a better life and made their home here.”

“Galveston Survives” captures not just the struggle for equality, but also the resilience of Galveston, which in 1900 was destroyed by a hurricane that killed at least 6,000 people.

“It was in [my mother’s] words a reflection of those types of things that Galveston has dealt with,” said Collins Pulliam, “and continued to survive and as much as possible thrive through.”

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This year’s concert was called “Voices Unbound” and it was only possible with funding from the Galveston Park Board, which in 2023 began subsidizing Juneteenth programming on the island.

“The primary goal of the grant program is to honor and uplift the legacy of Juneteenth by funding tourism-focused cultural events and projects in Galveston,” wrote Mary Beth Bassett, a senior public relations manager with the Galveston Park Board.

The money from this program comes from the city’s hotel occupancy tax and in the three years that it’s been operational, the Park Board has awarded $481,990 to events like poetry sessions, gospel concerts, stage plays and dance showcases.

This year, the Galveston Symphony received $20,000, the maximum amount under the Juneteenth Grant Program.

Many players with the orchestra have full-time careers outside of performing, which means that the Juneteenth concert had been in the making for about a year.

“I don’t have much else that I know how to share,” said LeBlanc, “and that’s how I feel with this orchestra. Even if it means staying up late some nights, it’s worth it because the people of Galveston are worth it.”

The singers

On the day of the concert, the symphony performed alongside the Galveston Heritage Chorale, a choir group founded by Izola Collins.

“She founded the choir to preserve the African American spirituals,” said Melissa Dightman.

Dightman is the conductor of the Heritage Chorale and she explained that spirituals are folk songs that were historically sung by enslaved people. They’re often inspired by biblical tradition and generally somber in tone.

“These are songs of joy, songs of sorrow, because the enslaved people could not express themselves through other forms of communication,” said Dightman.

Dightman works full-time as a choir director in Houston and is originally from Galveston.

“I’m ‘BOI,’ as we call ourselves,” she said. “’Born on the Island.’”

Growing up in the place where Juneteenth started, Dightman recalls people celebrating with parades, reenactments of Gen. Granger’s announcement and beauty pageants. 

“Growing up here, the different events that we had going had me excited,” she said. “But now, knowing the true meaning and the things that happened historically here, it resonates a little different now as an adult.”

For Dightman, singing spirituals is an act of preservation.

“It’s to recognize the culture of African Americans is from the enslaved people,” she said. “So to keep that on the forefront of each generation’s mind is something to behold.”

On the day of the Juneteenth concert, the Chorale performed “I Wanna Die Easy,” a song with a simple chorus and a straightforward message.

“I wanna die easy when I die,” it goes. “I wanna die easy when I die. Shout salvation when I rise.”

This was also Melissa Dightman’s favorite song she performed that day.

“I absolutely love this piece,” she said. “It is a testament of when you get to that point in your life and God calls you home.”

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