Welcome to Juneteenth Pilgrimage 2025!
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History
Journey with the Thomas family through our 175 years of history on Galveston Island, the birthplace of Juneteenth. Please meet at the historic Menard House to discover the second-floor quarters where Papa John lived before his emancipation on June 19, 1865. Walking 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 5th Annual Juneteenth Pilgrimage in Charleston, South Carolina, June 12-14, 2026.
RSVP today!
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Legacy
Explore the story of Rev. James B. Thomas, a Galveston City Councilman, and learn how his vision for Juneteenth becoming a state holiday became a reality. He advocated for diversity, inclusion, and equity before it became 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!
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.
