Welcome to Juneteenth Pilgrimage 2024!
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History
Journey with the Thomas family through our 175 years of history on Galveston Island, the birthplace of Juneteenth. Meet at the historic Menard House to discover the second floor quarters where Papa John lived before his emancipation on June 19, 1865. Walk the path he and his wife Ann may have walked to Avenue L Baptist Church or to Ashton Villa, where General Gordon Granger is believed to have read General Order No. 3 proclaiming all slaves free.
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Events
Join us for our annual Juneteenth Pilgrimage in Galveston, Texas to kick off the island’s holiday festivities, June 8, 2024.
Organizations can schedule virtual Juneteenth meetings to learn more about the holiday and spread the good news of freedom and justice for all.
Calling all Thomas family members! The 2024 Thomas Family Reunion will take place during the Juneteenth Pilgrimage Weekend, June 8-9, 2024.
RSVP today!
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Legacy
Explore the story of Rev. James B. Thomas, a Galveston City Councilman to learn how his vision for Juneteenth becoming a state holiday became a reality. He spent his life advocating for diversity, inclusion and equity before it was popular. He put his full force behind the commemoration of Juneteenth at the state level by connecting politicians together across race and party lines.
Learn Together
Building on our Legacy
During our first Juneteenth Pilgrimage event in 2022, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee challenged me to create Juneteenth curricula for college students to support the new federal holiday based on the bill she sponsored. I promised her I would. So this site offers not only information about the Juneteenth Pilgrimage experience in Galveston, but also educational information so that you can take your own journey.
We can journey together. Join The Juneteenth Pilgrimage Facebook group to ask questions and share stories of your own Juneteenth Pilgrimage. Let’s build and grow together. See you there!
Meet “Papa” John Fluker-Bass-Menard-Thomas
Learn the story of John Fluker-Bass-Menard-Thomas who was born in 1849 was enslaved to the co-founder of Galveston, Michel B. Menard and his wife Rebecca Mary Menard. John lived in the historic Menard House, the only Pre-Civil War house still standing on Galveston Island. John and his wife Ann on June 19, 1865, learned they were free according to General Gordon Granger’s Order No. 3. Upon learning of his freedom, he changed his family’s last name from Menard to Thomas, to embrace his freedom and to establish his family’s emancipated identity. His son William Menard Thomas would go on to become Galveston’s first black policeman, which led to a legacy that has been enriched over the 175 that the Thomas family has lived on Galveston Island, the home of Juneteenth.
Rev. James B. Thomas
A few months before I was born, my grandfather, a local pastor, in the thick of the Texas sun dragged his amplifier and podium from his van, up a narrow path to the stairs of Ashton Villa.
It was the morning of June 19, 1975, and for the first time in history, someone other than Gen. Gordon Granger stood on the steps of Ashton Villa to inform Galveston, Texas, and the people of the United States that all black people were free.
He shared our history and his vision with State Representative Al Edwards, and in 1979, Texas became the first state to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday on January 1, 1980.
Juneteenth 1979
Our Juneteenth Legacy continues.
President Joe Biden invited the descendants of Rev. James B. Thomas to the signing of the bill that made Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021. His son Lawrence B. Thomas and his daughter Courtney represented our family.
