2008 RGV Juneteenth Celebration

This morning I joined a number of speakers at a Rio Grande Valley Juneteenth Celebration. It took place in Edinburg at the Restlawn Cemetery.

Juneteenth is of course an annual state holiday in Texas. Generally it is celebrated on June 19, commemorating the announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas. The holiday originated in Galveston, Texas. In my hometown of Edinburg our ceremonies always take place at the once neglected cemetery.

Citizens in our small community have cleaned up the site and each year many do their part to see that the memories and struggles of those buried here are not forgotten. The Restlawn cemetery was started in about 1928 when a family cook, of the then Hidalgo County political boss and Sheriff A. Y. Baker, asked him to find a suitable burying ground for Edinburg's growing black community. Sheriff Baker, a director of the newly organized Hillcrest Cemetery Association, unofficially designated a half-acre in the undeveloped northwest corner of Hillcrest property as the cemetery for Black Americans.

The top photo from left to right shows many of the primary participants that led to today's event: NAACP President (6324), Monroe Saulter, Rep. Aaron Peña, former NAACP President (6324), Beverly Fridie, former Edinburg Mayor Al Ramirez (1963-1967), Ms. Heliton, Mrs. Valerie Ramirez from the Hidalgo County Historical Commission, Mrs. Adela Ortega, Chairman of the Hidalgo County Historical Commission, former Edinburg State Representative, Alex Moreno (1983-1991) and local historian Herb Solis from the American Legion Post 408.



At the event we dedicated a historical marker at the historically black cemetery.

The Monitor covered today's event.