Senator John Cornyn
@senjohncornyn·7.5K subscribers·1.9K videos
Emancipation Trail
Posted
March 11, 2020
Views
582
Likes
4
Engagement
0.69%
March 11, 2020
582
4
0.69%
Every word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.
Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.
Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line
1:19Now PlayingOne of the most defining days for our country, our state, and the Houston-Galveston region came when President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, finally freeing all slaves. But slaves in Texas wouldn’t learn this life-altering news for nearly two and a half years, until a day we all now know and celebrate as Juneteenth.
It was the day Major General Gordon Granger and Union troops arrived in Galveston to share the news that “all slaves are free.” These newly-freed men and women set out to spread the news to other slaves, with many heading straight from Galveston and establishing a new community in Houston.
The significance of this path extends far beyond the elation in the days following Juneteenth. It tells a story of the shameful era of slavery during our country’s early years. It paints a picture of the early beginnings of Houston – of the strong African American community that is part of the fabric of this incredibly beautiful and diverse city.
The stretch of land from here to Galveston is an integral part of our state – and our country’s – history. And I hope that soon, the importance of this trail won’t just live in the history books – it will be commemorated right here for generations of Americans to experience.
This law marks the first step toward establishing the Emancipation National Historic Trail.
*The 51-mile route from Galveston to Houston would become only the second National Historic Trail in the country honoring African American history.
---
SUBSCRIBE to get the latest from Senator John Cornyn
Visit Senator Cornyn's website
Like Senator Cornyn on Facebook
View Senator Cornyn’s photos on Flickr
ABOUT SENATOR JOHN CORNYN
Senator Cornyn was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002, and is currently serving his third term after being re-elected in 2008 and 2014.
He sits on the Senate Finance, Intelligence, and Judiciary Committees, where he helps craft legislation on behalf of 28 million Texans. From 2013 until 2018 Senator Cornyn was chosen by his colleagues to serve as the Republican Whip, the second-highest ranking position in the Senate Republican Conference.
A San Antonio native, Senator Cornyn has served the people of Texas for the last three decades, as a district judge, a member of the Texas Supreme Court and Texas Attorney General, before representing the Lone Star State in the U.S. Senate.
Sentinel Indexing in Progress
Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.
All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.
